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COPYRIGHT DEPOSfft 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 



The Practical 
Country Gentleman 

A HANDBOOK FOR THE OWNER OF A 
COUNTRY ESTATE, LARGE OR SMALL 



BY 
EDWARD K. PARKINSON 

CONSULTING AGRICULTURIST, AUTHOR OF " A GUIDE 
TO THE COUNTRY HOME" 



With 40 Illustrations 




CHICAGO 

A. C. McCLURG & CO, 

1911 



COPYBIGHT 

A. C. McCLURG & CO. 
1911 



Published, April, 1911 



The greater part of this book appeared originally in " The Boston 
Transcript,"' and ths balance in " The Country Gentleman " 



PRESS OF THE VAIL COMPANY 
COSHOCTON, U. S. A. 



©CU2b«il 






CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I Introductory 9 

II Water Supply and Pumps 14 

III Farm Buildings 27 

IV The Kind of Stock to Buy 43 

V Hints on Beef and Winter Lamb Raising on 

Country Estates (yy 

VI Feeds and Feeding 'jy 

VII Crops, Fertilizers, How to Use Them, and 

the Wood Lot 93 

VIII Directions as to Tools 116 

IX Ways in Which Farm Products May Be 

Marketed 127 

X Winter Work Within the Glass Houses . . 143 
XI The Cultivation of High-Priced Specialties . 156 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

Tomatoes in Cold Frame Frontispiece 

PAGE 

Hydraulic Ram in Position i5 

"Reeco" Ericsson Engine with Deep-well Pump con- 
nected to an Air-pressure Tank 20 

Hydraulic Ram, a Most Economical Power, where 
Suitable Conditions Prevail 22 

Method of Pumping Water from a Pond, Showing 
Position of Ram 24 

Buildings at Brookside Farm (S. L. and T. W, Stewart, 
Oimiers) .'28 

Barn Plan ^q 

Piggery on the Farm of the Illinois Experiment Sta- 
t;^" 34 

Interior of Illinois Experiment Station Piggery . . 38. 

Dorset Sheep {Owned by Hart's Delight Farm, Chasv 

^•^•) .44 

Example of the Kind of Stock to Buy: Typical Berk- 
shire Boar {Ozmed by Hood Farm, Lowell Mass.) 50 

Plymouth Rock Hen that laid 251 Eggs her First Lay- 
ing Year, at the Maine Experiment Station . . 56 . 

Typical Light Brahma Cockerel {Owned by Mr. Net- 
tleton, Shelton, Conn.) e5 

Examples of the Kind of Stock to Buy: Aberdeen- 
Angus Cattle {Ozvned by S. E. Lantz, Congerville 

m 60 

vii 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Dorset Lamb, 15 Weeks Old, the Kind used to Supply 
the Fancy Market with Hot-house Lambs in Win- 
ter (Owned by Fillmore Farm, Bennington, Vt.) 68 

Southdown Yearling Wether, Typical Mutton Type, 
Grand Champion over all Breeds {Owned by Sir 
George Drummond, Huntlywood Farm, Beacons- 
Held, Canada) 68 

Interior of Maine Experiment Station Poultry House 78 

Interior of Cow Stable at Brookside Farm .... 86 

Acelista, Ayrshire, with an Official Record for Five 
Consecutive Years of 52,000 Pounds of Milk and 
2,137 Pounds of Butter {Owned by Mr, C. M. 
Winslow, Brandon, Vt.) 94 

Comparative Corn Crops, Each Taken from One-twen- 
tieth Part of an Acre the Nineteenth Year of the 
Experiment {From Massachusetts Agricultural 
Experiment Station) 102 ' 

Potatoes which Received Liberal Applications Yearly 
of Materials Furnishing Nitrogen and Phosphoric 
Acid, but No Potash {Massachusetts Agricultural 
Experiment Station) 106 

Potatoes which Received Liberal Applications Yearly 
of Materials Furnishing Nitrogen and Phosphoric 
Acid and Potash {Massachusetts Agricultural Ex- 
periment Station) 112 

"In Measuring the Flow of Large Streams a Weir 
Gage Board is Used " 120 

" An Easy Way of Measuring the Flow of Water is to 
Dam up the Stream" 120 

Pumping Jack Belted to 3-Horsepower Gasolene En- 
gine 124 

Tomatoes, Strawberries, and Cucumbers in Mid-winter 130 
viii 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Experiment Showing the Necessity of Lime in Soil, 
Especially for Clover (From Massachusetts Agri- 
cultural Experiment Station) 134 

Example of Kind of Stock to Buy: Triple Interest, 
Jersey, Daughter of Celebrated Cow, Interest, Be- 
longing to a Family of Remarkable Butter-makers 
(Owned by William Rockefeller, Tarry town, 
N. Y.) 140 

Deep-well Pump with Furnace for Coal 144 

Three-compartment House in which Vegetables and 
Flowers may be Grown under the One Roof . . 148 

Cold Frames such as may Prove of Use in Connection 
with Glass Houses 148 

Examples of the Kind of Stock to Buy : Large York- 
shire Sow — Chester White Boar (Owned by 
Hart's Delight Farm, Chazy, N. Y.) 152 

Orchids and Beans in Blossom in Mid-winter . . .158 

Lavender 44th, a Dual-purpose Shorthorn with a Splen- 
did Milk Record (Owned by Sir George Drum- 
mond, Beaconsiield, Canada) 164 

World's Record Holstein-Friesian Cow (Owned by 
Mr. Mayer, Syracuse, N. Y.) 164 

Kathleen II, of Les Houards, a Fine Type of Guernsey, 
with an Official Record of 566.43 Pounds of Butter 
in One Year (Owned by Mr. Alfred G. Lewis, 
Geneva, N. Y.) 168 

Cauliflowers Ready for Market 176 



y 



IX 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY 
GENTLEMAN 

CHAPTER I 
INTRODUCTORY 

NO business man would be satisfied with a 
shop or an office which merely paid ex- 
penses; but there are innumerable owners of 
country places who find themselves annually 
confronted with a large deficit, and derive no 
comfort except from the thought that their acres 
have yielded more than sufficient interest and 
amusement to compensate for any pecuniary 
loss. 

If, then, these unnecessary annual losses could 
only be turned to profit, how much more in- 
teresting would the running of such a place be ! 
And surely, to men accustomed to business prin- 

9 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

ciples such an achievement is easily within reach. 
It should, however, always be borne in mind that 
a country estate has two distinct departments, 
namely, the park and the farm. The former 
includes lawns, drives, trees, shrubberies, glass 
houses, and flowers; and to the latter belong 
the crops, fruits, and live-stock, and it is from 
this department our revenue should come. The 
question of net profits from a country place, 
then, will depend in a large measure upon the 
amount of land to be devoted merely to orna- 
mental planting. If, for instance, the owner 
prefers to have thirty acres of park and only 
twenty of farm land, he could hardly expect the 
revenue of one to support the expensive exac- 
tions of the other. But if, on the other hand, 
an estate of, say, eighty acres has fifty devoted 
to the raising of crops and stock, the rest being 
given over to the owner's fancy for landscape 
gardening, a net return of four thousand dollars 
could be made if the farm were properly han- 
dled. This sum should do more than cover the 
expense of the park and moderate-sized glass 
houses. 

lO 



INTRODUCTORY 

The farm department should never be 
charged with the entire capital Invested, or with 
the maintenance of a garage, stables, kennels, 
etc.; and credit should always be given It for 
everything sold, whether consumed In the house 
or shipped to market. If the owner wishes to 
Indulge In fancy dairying, he should charge ac- 
cordingly and obtain extra prices for his butter, 
cheese, milk, and other products. 

We have learned to overcome drought by 
Irrigation, and to allay the fear of a wet season 
by under-dralnage. We have our domestic ani- 
mals so largely under control that we are en- 
abled to fly In the very face of nature. It has 
also been abundantly proved that the returns 
from modern farming far exceed those of the 
vast majority of commercial enterprises. In- 
deed, the writer knows of several men engaged 
In different branches of agriculture, whose an- 
nual net Income exceeds ten per cent on the total 
Investment. To cite an especial case — there 
lives In Indiana a man who has a national repu- 
tation In the particular branch of farming which 
he pursues, and whose yearly Income Is seldom 

II 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

less than twenty-five thousand dollars, and us- 
ually more. 

Are these things within reach of the city-bred 
man who has sufficient means to invest in a 
medium-sized country place and who wishes to 
make it pay? Most assuredly so, provided 
such a one has a real love for country life, a 
mind intelligent enough to grasp the principles 
on which success depends, and — added to these 
— the will to read, to work, and to learn from 
the larger experience of others. 

To the over-zealous a word of caution is 
added: let him creep before he tries to walk. 
It is not to be taken altogether for granted be- 
cause these chapters recommend certain advan- 
tageous methods and suggest improvements and 
purchases running up into a considerable sum of 
money, that a man Is warranted in making such 
improvements until he has determined just the 
line he intends to follow, or, unless he has suf- 
ficient capital to warrant equipping his plant 
fully at the start. 

For such this book is written, in the hope 
that it may help the inexperienced to reach the 

12 



INTRODUCTORY 

goal and to avoid some of the stumbling-blocks 
which so often beset a beginner, and which tend 
to discourage and retard him. Economy of 
production Is to be the key-note, but only such 
economy as Is consistent with the raising of high- 
class products. For, with choice table eggs 
fetching sixty cents a dozen, and home-made 
unsalted butter seventy-five cents a pound at 
hotels and clubs, It pays to provide every rea- 
sonable comfort for the producers of these 
articles. 



13 



CHAPTER II 
WATER SUPPLY AND PUMPS 

IN the Autumn of 19 lo President Taft was 
asked by the State of Colorado to press the 
button which opened the Gunnison tunnel and 
turned the waters of the Gunnison River into the 
Uncompahgre Valley. This splendid bit of en- 
gineering will cost the United States Govern- 
ment about five million dollars when completed; 
but as a result one hundred and fifty thousand 
acres of land will be irrigated and brought into 
a state of cultivation, yielding a revenue suf- 
ficiently large to repay the Government within 
the next ten years. In choosing a farm, then, 
it should be clearly understood that land with- 
out an abundant water supply is as poor an In- 
vestment as one could well make. When It Is 
borne in mind that water makes up a very large 
per cent of the constituents of all our farm 
14 



WATER SUPPLY AND PUMPS 

crops, Including milk, the value of an inexhaust- 
ible water supply can be readily appreciated. 

On a farm of moderate size the supply of 
water will be derived from a spring, a well, a 
brook, a pond, or a reservoir. In the majority 
of cases a shallow well or spring will supply the 
drinking water, while a cistern at the barn serves 
for watering the stock. 

Before the supply system that Is to be in- 
stalled Is decided on, the water should be care- 
fully analyzed and also tested for the quantity 
yielded In twenty-four hours. That people be- 
come Immune to bad water is notorious ; for on 
many farms where a well Is near the stable or 
hog-pen, no evil effects are felt by the owner 
from drinking such water, but let a passerby, 
used to pure, wholesome water, drink from the 
same source, and ten chances to one the conse- 
quences are disastrous. 

A driven well, made either by driving an Iron 
pipe with a. pointed perforated shoe attached 
where the ground is not rocky, or by the use 
of especial well tools and steel-pointed drills 
where it is rocky, is much safer for drinking 

15 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

purposes than shallow wells; for the water is 
then taken from a lower stratum, and there is 
but little chance of contamination. The first 
thing to be considered after the source of supply 
is decided upon is the way in which water should 
be stored; and as a medium-sized farm of about 
sixty to seventy-five acres needs sufHcient water 
to provide for a family, say, of five, in addition 
to ten cows, two horses, ten pigs, and six hun- 
dred fowls, besides watering the lawns, flowers, 
etc., ample storage room should be provided. 

There are four different ways of storing 
water in general use: in tanks of wood, steel, 
or concrete set on steel or concrete supports; 
in reservoirs, made either of earth or concrete, 
and built partly in an embankment and partly 
above ground; in wooden tin-lined tanks placed 
in the attic; in air-tight tubular steel tanks, into 
which air is forced with water, creating a pres- 
sure that forces the water through the delivery 
pipe. The advantages and disadvantages of these 
four ways can be briefly summed up. Wooden 
tanks are inexpensive, but liable, of course, to 
shrink if they remain empty any length of time. 
i6 




Courtesy of Power Specialty Co. 

HYDRAULIC RAM IN TOSITION 



WATER SUPPLY AND PUMPS 

On the other hand, steel tanks are excellent if 
they have round or concave bottoms, but they 
are difficult to keep painted, and the overflow 
and supply pipes have to be carefully protected 
against frost. Concrete tanks are expensive, 
and there are none better, but In them also the 
supply and overflow pipes must be protected in 
winter. 

Concrete reservoirs are well worth the ex- 
pense if they can be built on a hill, so that the 
bottom of the reservoir Is higher than the roof 
of the highest building. In planning a reser- 
voir. If It is borne In mind that a gallon is 
equivalent to 268.8 cubic inches, it will be an 
easy matter to figure the required dimensions. 
If it is found advantageous to build a reservoir 
it should be large enough to contain a week's 
supply; and, furthermore. It should be covered, 
in order to exclude the sunlight, which causes 
the growth of vegetable matter in the water. 

Attic tanks never prove very satisfactory, as 
in case of fire there Is not sufficient force to 
throw water over the roof. Moreover, large 
tanks require strong supports, and frequently 

17 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

steel beams have to be substituted for wooden 
ones, which, of course, adds considerably to the 
cost of installation. 

Air-pressure tanks are perhaps the best me- 
dium for storing water when engines are used for 
pumping directly from a well or spring. These 
tanks are placed either in the cellar or in a 
pumping-house built over the well. The air 
pressure, sixty pounds or more per square inch, 
is sufficient to throw water over any building of 
moderate size. A 1500-gallon tank with a 
pump would cost about three hundred dollars. 

We now come to the question of power for 
pumping water into a storage tank, and here we 
have a choice of seven different methods, namely, 
a windmill, a gasolene or hot-air engine, steam, 
electricity, hydraulic ram, and the air-lift sys- 
tem. Windmills, though uncertain in their 
movements, especially in summer, are quite sat- 
isfactory when used in connection with gasolene 
engines as auxiliaries. But there is always the 
possibility of disablement in a high wind, and 
there is frequently the disagreeable necessity of 
climbing up to the mill to oil it, which, if one 
18 



WATER SUPPLY AND PUMPS 

Is not fond of dizzy heights, Is a most trying 
and dangerous task. If, however, all condi- 
tions favor the use of a windmill, It should be 
built sufficiently high to be above the tops of 
surrounding trees and buildings. A concrete 
reservoir built on a hill or on supports will prove 
the best storage medium In connection with 
a windmill, for a larger supply of water can 
thus be kept on hand. The cost of a windmill 
depends on the size of the fan and the height 
of the tower. The lowest price would be about 
one hundred and fifty dollars, exclusive of 
piping. 

Gasolene engines have become a part of the 
equipment of every progressive farmer. They 
are easy to handle, and their construction Is 
simple. A small one-horsepower, air-cooled 
engine belted to a pump will be large enough for 
our purpose If run Intermittently; but If It Is 
found necessary to run It six or seven hours at 
a time, a two-horsepower engine will be better. 
It requires but a turn or two of a crank to start 
them; and when used In connection with the 
Kewanee tank, an automatic device Is furnished 

19 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

for shutting off the power. The gasolene en- 
gine, however, is not suited to running in a 
house cellar, as the noise is too great; but for 
running a deep-well pump, which is operated 
with a piston rod and consequently has to be 
set directly over the well, it is most practical. 
The use of steam is too expensive for a small 
place and we need not consider it. 

Hot-air engines are strictly pumping-engines, 
and as such they have no superior except the 
electric motor. The principle used is the ex- 
pansion of air, which is heated by the use of 
gas, coal, wood, kerosene, or gasolene. These 
engines can be run at very small cost, a quart of 
kerosene or four pounds of coal being sufficient 
for an hour's pumping. 

A suction pump may be used if water is taken 
from a shallow well where the vertical lift is 
not over twenty or twenty-five feet, and in 
that case the engine and tank can be in- 
stalled in the cellar; otherwise a pump house 
must be built. The cost of a hot-air engine, 
capable of pumping 300 gallons per hour to a 
height of seventy-five feet (which is estimated 
20 




Courtesy of Rider-Ericsson Engine Co. 

"REECO" ERICSSON ENGINE WITH DEEP-WELL PUMP CONNECTED TO 
AN AIR-PRESSURE TANK 



WATER SUPPLY AND PUMPS 

from the surface of the water) will be about 
one hundred and thirty dollars, to which must 
be added ten dollars if a kerosene burner Is used. 
This price is exclusive of piping. 

Electric power, where it can be obtained at 
reasonable rates, is of course the most conven- 
ient one for pumping. A one-horsepower 
motor will easily keep a 1500-gallon tank filled; 
and as the starting and stopping of the water is 
automatic when used In connection with the 
Kewanee tank, there is no waste of either time 
or power in looking after it. The average cost 
of electric power delivered from a power com- 
pany is about ten cents per kilowatt hour; In 
other words. It will cost about two dollars per 
month to keep a 1500-gallon tank filled where 
the average daily consumption is a thousand 
gallons. 

The hydraulic ram, where suitable conditions 
prevail, is the most economical of the various 
pumping-englnes already mentioned. It should 
be installed wherever a sufficient fall of water 
to operate it can be secured, for it performs its 
work faithfully night and day, winter and sum- 

21 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

mer, with a minimum amount of attention. 
The principle of the ram is very simple. The 
machine Is placed at a point where a fall of 
water may be obtained for power, as, for in- 
stance, on the bank of a stream, lake, pond, or 
near a spring. In operation the water enters 
the drive pipe from the source of supply and 
flows toward the ram, where it is allowed to 
escape through the open working-valve. The 
velocity of water In the pipe rapidly Increases, 
and when It reaches a certain velocity the work- 
ing-valve Is suddenly closed by the force of the 
water. The water, being prevented from go- 
ing through the working-valve, enters the air 
chamber through the delivery valve where the 
pressure of air ultimately forces water from the 
ram through the delivery pipe. The difference 
In level between the water and the ram forms 
the powerhead; and the difference In level be- 
tween the ram and the tank Into which water 
Is pumped forms the pumplng-head. There are 
single-acting rams which deliver water that 
drives them, and there are double-acting rams 
that deliver pure spring water which Is not 

22 



^^MJ^M 



Courtesy of Power Specialty Co. 
HYDRAULIC RAM, A 



MOST ECONOMICAL POWER, WHERE SUITABLE 
CONDITIONS PREVAIL 



WATER SUPPLY AND PUMPS 

mixed with the power supply. The power to 
dehver water will depend on the fall of water 
available. This may be from two to fifty feet. 
The pumping-head may be anything up to five 
hundred feet and a ram is effective for elevating 
water thirty feet for every foot of fall. If a 
pond is used for a water supply, the height of the 
water level in the pond above the pit where the 
ram is located, and the distance from the pond 
to the ram, should be measured in feet and 
the measurements sent to the company from 
whom the ram is to be purchased. An easy 
way of measuring the flow of small springs or 
streams, and to ascertain the quantity of water 
available for working a ram, is to dam up the 
stream and in this dam insert a short piece of 
earthenware or iron pipe to form a spout. The 
measurements should then be made by two per- 
sons, one to take the time and the other to catch 
the water; the latter should have, say, a three- 
gallon pail and at a signal from the timekeeper 
should instantly thrust the pail under the spout 
and see how long it takes to fill it. This should 
be done several times in order to secure the exact 

23 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

time; It is then an easy matter to calculate 
how many gallons the stream can supply per 
minute. 

A ram capable of supplying 1500 gallons 
of water In twenty- four hours to a tank fifty 
feet above the ram, where the fall Is six feet 
and the power supply twenty gallons per min- 
ute, should cost fifty dollars, exclusive of pipe 
and work. The water could be stored either 
In a reservoir of ample dimensions, built of 
cement, and on a hill, or in a steel or concrete 
tower tank. In either case the bottom of the 
reservoir should be on a level with the top of 
the highest building. In order to get sufficient 
force In case of fire. The Intake and overflow 
of the reservoir should also be protected 
against frost. 

There is still another practicable way of 
pumping water, and that is by the '' air-lift 
pump." For deep wells this method Is emi- 
nently satisfactory, as It does away with a pump 
valve entirely, and all the machinery Is above 
ground. The air compression required may be 
effected by a gasolene engine, electric motor, or 
24 



WATER SUPPLY AND PUMPS 

hot-air engine. The principle is that the com- 
pressed air entering the well casing through a 
small pipe, forces water up through the water 
pipe, which is in the same casing. The water 
is discharged into a small tank built in the 
pump house, from whence it is pumped into a 
storage tank for distribution. The cost of such 
a system should be between three hundred and 
seventy-five dollars and four hundred dollars, 
exclusive of building the pump house, piping, 
etc. 

It should not be forgotten that each place of- 
fers a different problem,. However, where av- 
erage conditions prevail, a driven well, operated 
by either a well pump or the air-lift system, 
including a hot-air or gasolene engine with an 
air-pressure storage tank, will usually be found 
the most satisfactory. On the other hand, if a 
spring supplies the farm, and a sufficient fall of 
water can be obtained for operating a hydraulic 
ram, it wijl give good service provided it is well 
covered during the winter months. Again, if 
the spring is only large enough to supply drink- 
ing water, and a creek or stream passes through 

25 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

the farm, a ram could be Installed to supply 
water for general use. 

But whatever place Is decided upon, one can- 
not be too careful In writing full particulars to 
the company from whom the power is to be pur- 
chased, for only then will they be able to give 
the proper amount of pipe required, the size of 
the engine, and so on. 

It cannot be too emphatically urged to spend 
a sufficient sum In putting In an adequate and 
satisfactory water system ; otherwise there Is con- 
tinual annoyance over small details, and much 
bothering over a lack of water. Expenditure 
at the outset will generally be found to pay in 
the end. 



26 



CHAPTER III 

FARM BUILDINGS 

Primary Essentials to be Observed in 
Their Construction — The Barn the 
Centre of the Group — The Lowly 
Piggery and Cow Stable. 

UNSUITABLE and Inconveniently ar- 
ranged farm buildings cause many un- 
necessary steps and the spending of much 
valuable time, which might be more profitably 
employed. Buildings on the average farm In the 
East are, as a rule, lacking In four essential par- 
ticulars, namely, convenience of grouping out- 
side, proper arrangements within, protection 
against fire, and In adequate architectural design. 
To one who has recently purchased a country 
home, then, the rearrangement of farm build- 
ings becomes a most serious problem. 

In all probability the buildings on an aver- 
27 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

age-sized farm will include a barn for hay, with 
a small shed-roof wing for cattle, or possibly a 
basement serving the same purpose; a carriage 
house; a stable for horses; a hog pen; a hen 
house; a corn crib, and an implement shed. 
The chances are that these buildings will be 
across the public highway and directly in front 
of the house, or at least within fifty feet of the 
rear of the house. What disposition to make 
of them will depend upon the investment to be 
made. If the farm is to become the permanent 
home, the buildings should be either entirely 
torn down or removed to a convenient spot some 
distance from the house, and properly grouped 
and remodelled. 

Let us suppose, for instance, that the build- 
ings, though scattered, are found to be In fair 
condition, and the sills, frames, and siding sound 
and tight. The question then arises how to 
group them conveniently and make them as 
modern as possible. The uses to which the 
usual seven buildings mentioned above are to 
be put will in a measure govern the remodelling. 
If a dairy department is to be developed, the 
28 



FARM BUILDINGS 

new stable should be the chief building, and the 
major part of the capital should be spent upon 
refitting it If, on the other hand, sheep and 
swine are to be the staple products, buildings 
suitable for their accommodation should be pro- 
vided. 

The centre of the group is usually the hay 
barn, and this should be arranged so that a 
loaded hay-wagon can be driven through and 
not have to back in or out. If this is impossi- 
ble, provision should be made for an overhead 
hay-carrier system with large doors in the gable 
end of the barn to permit of hay being taken in 
through them from the wagon outside. The 
bottom of the hay-bays will probably be on a 
level with the ground floor, which is always in- 
convenient for feeding as it necessitates climb- 
ing to the top of the mow whenever hay is fed. 
This can be remedied by building a floor nine 
feet above the sills if the height of the building 
will permit. The extra space thus gained may 
be used partly for the horse stable and partly 
for a carriage room. The convenience of hav- 
ing hay upstairs out of the way, and vehicles 
29 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

and horses near each other, will more than com- 
pensate for any extra expense. Moreover, the 
carriage house may be moved off and used for 
a piggery, which would otherwise have to be 
built. Running water should be provided in 
all the buildings; and this can be done easily 
where they are placed on foundation walls with- 
out cellars under them. The water pipe will 
enter through the foundation wall below the 
frost line and connect there with a small frost- 
proof hydrant which does away with all danger 
of water freezing in the pipe. 

In placing and remodelling a cow stable it 
will always be well to consider carefully whether 
such a step is worth the expense. The mod- 
ern sanitary stables are so entirely different from 
those used twenty-five years ago that the cost 
of making them conform to modern ideas woula 
be about as great as building new ones. If but- 
ter is to be made and sold at fancy prices, do not 
waste time in remodelling an old building. On 
the other hand, if dual-purpose cattle are to be 
kept for raising baby beef, and the milk used 
merely for home consumption, then utilize the 
30 



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FARM BUILDINGS 

present structure : put In a new celling and Inside 
walls of matched floor boards; provide plenty 
of light and ventilation (700 cubic feet of air 
space for each animal) by arranging the win- 
dow sash to open In, and building a cupola In 
the roof with an air-shaft extending down to 
within a foot of the floor, and arranged so 
that it may be closed or opened at will; pur- 
chase modern swing stanchions and galvanized 
Iron pipe stall partitions, and if a new floor 
Is necessary put in a concrete one. Reroof 
with asbestos shingles or some other fire-proof 
material, and set the building on stone or 
concrete foundations. To get as much sun 
as possible the stable should extend north and 
south. For regrouping, It should be borne in 
mind that the cow and horse stables should have 
exits opening Into a barnyard, where there Is 
a manure pit. If such a yard has a northern 
and western exposure, a shed may be built on 
the north side for cattle to run under In windy 
and stormy weather. 

On the other side of the hay barn. In an 
equal space, ridge-roofed building, should be the 
31 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

calf and bull pens and the implement shed. 
The space between the plate and the ridge may 
be used for storing hay for the animals in the 
building. These, for convenience, should all be 
on the same floor level, with sliding doors 
between the rooms so that a handcart or a 
wheelbarrow can pass easily from one end of 
the building to the other. A concrete floor 
made in the proportion of 1:2^:5 — that is, 
one barrel packed Portland cement to 2j^ bar- 
rels (9.5 cubic feet) loose sand, to 5 barrels 
(19 cubic feet) loose gravel or broken stone — 
will last a lifetime and is much more sanitary 
than the best of wooden floors. 

Before taking up the remodelling of the other 
buildings it may be well to go into the question 
of conveniences, and in these days when satisfac- 
tory farm labor is so difficult to procure every 
possible convenience should be installed that is 
practical and labor-saving. Some of these in- 
clude an overhead feed and litter carrier; a cat- 
tle manger, extending the entire length of the 
stalls, which is used for water as well as feed; 
scales for weighing feed; two or more box stalls 
32 



FARM BUILDINGS 

in the cow stable and one in the horse stable. 
In the wagon and implement shed (which 
should be provided with folding doors, that it 
may be closed and locked at night) there should 
be several heavy eye bolts in the ceiling to which 
pulley blocks are hooked for lifting off wagon 
bodies and implements. The grain bins, the 
Mecca of rats and mice, should be constructed of 
galvanized iron or be tin-lined, the former pref- 
erably. If a silo is built, the entrance to it 
should not be directly connected with the cow 
stable, but rather through the feed-room, as 
milk absorbs the odor of silage very quickly. 

The piggery, if properly constructed and 
kept clean, will be as free from odors as the 
stables. It is commonly supposed that swine 
are naturally inclined to filth, but there was 
never a more absurd theory; they are, for in- 
stance, particularly cleanly about their sleeping 
quarters, and if allowed a large yard in which 
to run, will keep themselves very clean. But 
as the cleanliness of the piggery will depend 
upon the energy of the hired man, it will be wise 
to have it at least fifty feet from the other 

33 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

buildings. If hams and bacon are to be raised 
in quantities, then quarters should be provided 
for not less than five brood sows and a boar, 
and the building should have plenty of light 
and ventilation. The Illinois Experiment Sta- 
tion has a piggery which is a capital example of 
what such a building should be. Its dimen- 
sions are 120 by 30 feet, and the long way of 
the building is east and west. There are two 
rows of pens, each 10 feet wide by 11 feet 
deep, with an alley 8 feet wide through the cen- 
tre. The floor is concrete, and all the parti- 
tions are made of heavy wire fencing with posts 
of galvanized piping set in the concrete floor. 
There is a gate in each pen and a door (which 
slides upward) leading to the outside. The 
feed troughs are of metal and placed on the 
alley side of the pens. The section of fence 
which they are under is hinged at the top so that 
it can be pushed in toward the pen and fas- 
tened; this keeps the pigs from interfering with 
the feeder when he is filling the troughs. Each 
pen is provided with a fender made of two-inch 
iron pipe set six inches from the wall and nine 
34 



FARM BUILDINGS 

inches above the floor; this extends from the 
outside door across the rear of the pen and 
half-way along the partition fence. The ob- 
ject of this rail is to prevent the sows from ly- 
ing on their pigs at farrowing time. At the 
east end of the pen is a large feed-room con- 
taining feed-bins, cookers, and scales on which 
to weigh the pigs. The yards are 28 feet; and 
those of the brood sows should open into a large 
field (an acre for five sows with litters). 

In constructing the concrete floor, a porous 
sub-base from 6 to 12 inches thick — the thick- 
ness depending somewhat on the severity of the 
winter — should first be laid. The material 
used may be either broken stone, gravel, or cin- 
ders, well wet and tamped in layers, so that 
when complete It will be even and firm, but por- 
ous. Over this spread a layer of three-ply tar 
paper with the joints well tarred, to prevent 
the dampness from coming through. Then 
cover with a 3 to 5 inch coat of cement in the 
proportion of 1:2^^:5. In this cement the 
posts and fender-supports are set before It 
hardens. A final coat of mortar one inch thick, 

3S 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

in the proportion of one part Portland cement 
to one and one-half parts clean, coarse sand, is 
then laid and roughed, to prevent slipping, be- 
fore it sets. 

The building for sheep should be a shed-like 
structure with sufficient loft room for the stor- 
age of hay and straw, but so arranged with 
folding doors that the south side may be thrown 
wide open, permitting the sheep to go in and out 
at will. A room must be portioned off and 
made warm and sunny for the ewes to lamb In ; 
and a separate pen should of course be provided 
for the stock, the rams, and the lambs that are 
being fattened. 

A poultry house should always face the south 
and southeast; and if the shed roof type is de- 
cided upon, the high side should be the south 
side. There are numerous ways of building 
poultry houses, but for practical commercial 
purposes the style of house used by the Maine 
Experimental Station is excellent in every detail. 
This house is 20 feet wide and 400 feet long. 
Three sills G^G inches run lengthwise, and the 
central one supports the floor timbers. They 

36 



FARM BUILDINGS 

rest on stone piers high enough to let a dog go 
under the building to look after rats or skunks. 
The floor timbers are 2x8 inches, and rest 
wholly on top of the sills; the front ones are 8 
feet and the back ones 6 feet 6 inches long. 
The roof is unequal in width, the ridge being 
8 feet from the front wall. The height of the 
ridge from the sill to the extreme top is 1 2 feet. 
All studding is 2x4 in size and the rafters are 
2x5. The building Is boarded with Inch 
boards, and papered and shingled with good 
cedar shingles on wall and roof (asbestos shin- 
gles preferably) . The floor is of two thick- 
nesses of boards, which breaks joints well in lay- 
ing. The building Is divided by tight board par- 
titions into twenty pens, each pen being 20 
feet long. The front side of each pen has two 
windows of twelve lights of 10x12 glass 
screwed on uprights 2 feet 8 inches from each 
end of the room; these are 3 feet above the 
floor. The space between the windows Is 8 
feet 10 Inches long, and the top part of It down 
from the plate 3 Yz. feet Is not boarded but left 
open to be covered by a cloth curtain when nec- 

37 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

essary. This leaves a tight wall 3 feet 10 
inches high extending from the bottom of the 
opening down to the floor, which prevents the 
wind from blowing directly on the birds when 
they are on the floor. A door is made in this 
part of the front wall for the attendant to pass 
through when the curtain is open. A door 
16x18 inches is arranged under one of the win- 
dows close to the floor, for the birds to pass 
through to the yard. The platform runs the 
length of the pen, and is 4 feet 10 inches wide, 
and 3 feet above the floor. There are three 
roosts framed together in two ten-foot sections ; 
they are one foot above the platform, and 
hinged to the back wall, so that they may be 
turned up out of the way when the platform is 
being cleaned. The doors dividing the pens 
are 3x7 feet, and are divided in the middle 
lengthwise ; each half is hung with double-acting 
spring hinges, allowing them to swing open both 
ways and close. An overhead track runs the 
entire length of the building, and from it is 
suspended a car, 2x8 feet in size, elevated a foot 

38 




11 ^" 





^^^i:M 



i 







FARM BUILDINGS 

above the floor. All food and water are car- 
ried through on this car. 

At one end of the building is a feed-room 
with a small boiler for washing and preparing 
birds for market. A walk is outside the house, 
and extends its entire length. It is four feet 
wide and made of two-inch plank; it is elevated 
two feet above the floor of the building, which 
allows the doors through which chickens pass 
to the yards to be opened and closed without 
interference. A guard of poultry netting a foot 
wide along the outside of the walk prevents the 
birds from flying from the yards up to the walk. 
The advantage of this walk is that it is unob- 
structed by gates, which would be necessary 
were the low walk used to prevent the birds 
from passing from one yard to another. The 
yards should be the width of the pens and one 
hundred feet long. It is an advantage to have 
double yards, in order that one yard may be 
ploughed up each year and planted to rye or 
clover. If new buildings are to be erected then 
it is wise to put everything but the poultry and 

39 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

swine under one roof. Such a building should 
be fire-proof, and constructed either of fire- 
brick covered with a light coat of cement, or of 
concrete. In the latter case the walls may be 
hollow or solid. In building stables the hollow 
construction assures a warm room in winter and 
a cool one in summer, the air acting as a non- 
conductor and forming an easy method of In- 
stalling the King system of ventilation. All 
floors should be provided with a damp-proof 
course of heavy tar paper between the concrete 
and the sub-base, or otherwise the cattle and 
swine may contract rheumatism. 

Carpenters will be needed to build the forms; 
and this should be no trouble if they bear in 
mind that they are building just the reverse of 
a structure. The concreting may be done by 
a gang of untrained men under the guidance of 
an experienced foreman. The finishing can be 
done by ordinary plasterers or masons after 
some practice In working with cement mortar. 
Buildings which have no especial need of this 
smooth finish may be roughly pointed up and 
painted, with cement and sand grouting. Out- 
40 



FARM BUILDINGS 

side the buildings are tooled with stone axes to 
give a rough stone finish to the structure. 

Sometimes old buildings are improved by re- 
moving the siding and covering the frame with 
two thicknesses of roofing paper well lapped. 
Then put on furring strips about one foot apart, 
and on these fasten metal laths; after this apply 
the scratch coat half an Inch thick (composed 
of five parts Portland cement, twelve parts 
clean coarse sand, three parts lime, and a small 
quantity of hair), and press It partly through 
the opening in the laths, roughing the surface 
with a stick or a trowel. Allow this to set well 
and apply the finishing coat one-half to one Inch 
thick, composed of one part Portland cement, 
three parts clean coarse sand, and one part 
slacked lime paste. This coat can be put on 
and smoothed with a wooden float, or can be 
thrown on with a trowel, or with a large stiff- 
fibred brush If a spatter-dash finish is desired. 
A pebble-dash finish may be obtained with a 
final coat of one part Portland cement, three 
parts coarse sand and pebbles not a quarter of 
an Inch in diameter, thrown on with a trowel. 
41 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

If the cost of building fire-proof structures 
Is more than the owner can afford, it will at 
least be wise to build fire-proof walls between 
stock stables and the main hay barn. This pre- 
caution, with asbestos shingles or any other 
non-inflammable roofing-material, and fire doors 
which will be closed at night, will reduce the 
danger to a minimum. 



42 



CHAPTER IV 

THE KIND OF STOCK TO BUY 

Cows, Pigs, Sheep, and Poultry, the Es- 
sentials TO BE Observed in Their Se- 
lection. 

THE importance of stocking the farm with 
animals best suited to that particular 
branch of agriculture which the owner most 
desires to develop, is too frequently overlooked. 
In fact, success or failure depends In a large 
measure upon the breed of stock kept. 

For Instance, to keep a herd of Holstein cat- 
tle for the purpose of supplying cream to pri- 
vate customers; or to maintain a flock of Leg- 
horn fowls from which to raise roasters, would 
be to court 'disaster. The Holsteins are, to be 
sure, great milk producers; but the Jersey cows 
are acknowledged to be the most economi- 
cal machines for cream-production. Leghorns 

43 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

have no superior in egg production; but on the 
other hand, for plump, juicy roasters we must 
look to Asiatic breeds. As changes are always 
costly it is best to decide first just what depart- 
ments on the place are to be money-makers, and 
then make intelligent and careful selection. 

The best financial results from a small farm 
near a thriving city or town will be obtained by 
gradually building up a high-class private trade 
in finished products, namely, butter, eggs, broil- 
ers, roasters, ducks, hams, bacon; and to the 
list might be added winter lambs. With such 
a definite end in view the selection of stock be- 
comes a more simple matter. In looking over 
a list of the different breeds of cattle we find 
them divided into three principal classes — 
dairy, beef, and dual-purpose. The dairy class 
includes Holsteins, Ayrshires, Guernseys, Jer- 
seys, Brown-Swiss, and Dutch-belted. The 
dual-purpose class includes those breeds which 
combine good milking qualities with the size 
and characteristics of the beef breeds. These 
are the Devons, Shorthorns, Red-Polled, 
Polled-Durhams, Normandy, and Simmenthals. 
44 





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THE KIND OF STOCK TO BUY 

The best "beef breeds known In this country are 
the Herefords, Galloway, Aberdeen-Angus, and 
Sussex. 

The most essential qualifications of a good 
cow are: 

Form — Spare, angular, moderately short- 
legged, barrel capacious ; hind-quarters wide and 
deep, scale medium to large. 

Quality — General refinement of symmetri- 
cal and clean-cut features; bone fine and clean; 
hair fine and soft; skin not more than medium 
thickness ; head, neck, and legs fine and of mod- 
erate length. 

Condition — Spare, no fat apparent; skin 
loose and mellow. 

Constitution — Generous and symmetrical 
development ; hvely carriage ; ample heart-girth ; 
capacity of barrel and depth of flank; eyes full, 
bright, and clear; nostrils wide apart, large and 
open; absence of refinement and spareness to 
point of delicacy or emaciation; skin of me- 
dium thickness, free from scurf; coat soft and 
bright. 

Nervous Energy — Spinal column prominent, 
45 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

vertebrae wide apart; forehead high and wide; 
ears active; temperament alert, which is also 
an indication of constitution and quality. 

Sexuality — A general appearance of sensi- 
bility and feminine refinement of feature; mod- 
erate length and great capacity in barrel; width 
in loin, hip bones, and pin-bones ; well-developed 
udder; horn and coat fine; eyes expressive of 
mild and gentle sensitiveness. 

Milk-giving Capacity — Udder large, shape- 
ly, evenly quartered, free from fleshiness, ex- 
tending well up behind and far forward, 
strongly attached; milk veins large and tortu- 
ous; milk-well large; secretions of skin abun- 
dant and yellow. 

In buying live-stock write to a reliable 
breeder and explain clearly just what Is wanted, 
stating frankly that the buyer's knowledge of 
cattle Is limited, and In nine cases out of ten the 
owner will ship the best he has for the sum to 
be invested. Before deciding definitely, how- 
ever, on the purchase of any particular breed, 
two points should be considered: 

First, that grade cows (meaning the offspring 

46 



THE KIND OF STOCK TO BUY 

of a pure-blood male and a mixed-blood 
female, though In the first two generations the 
terms " half-blood '' and " three-quarters 
blood " are used) will meet all requirements of 
an ordinary dairy quite as well as thorough- 
breds, and the cost will of course be much less. 
They can usually be bought through a buyer 
whose business it is to execute just such commis- 
sions. 

Second, that all cows soon pass the age of 
prime usefulness and then go to the shambles, 
where they fetch much or little according to the 
breed. As the flesh of Jerseys, Guernseys, 
Holstelns, and Ayrshires is tough and stringy, 
butchers pay very little for aged cows of these 
breeds. The flesh of Devons, Shorthorns, and 
other cows of the dual-purpose type Is fine- 
grained, well marked, and juicy, and therefore 
fetches a top price. 

It has been often remarked that " Pigs is 
pigs " ; but looking at those much-slandered ani- 
mals as a prospective buyer, it is, on the con- 
trary, quite easily seen that there are pigs and 
pigs. To the Western farmer with many acres 

47 



/ 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

should be left the raising of pigs for pork. In 
the land where corn is king, a combination of 
corn, cattle, and pork proves a money-making 
trio; but the man with smaller acreage will have 
better results from ham and bacon. As we 
all know, the demand for delicious, well- 
flavored hams and lean bacon is far ahead of 
the supply, and the highest prices are offered 
for them by clubs, hotels, and private indi- 
viduals. 

The principal bacon breeds of swine are the 
Tamworth, Large Yorkshire, and Berkshire. 
The offspring of the latter when crossed with 
the Tamworth combine the best qualities of 
each breed, namely, the early maturing quality 
of the Berkshire with the general conformation 
of the Tamworth. 

The bacon type Is distinctive, and the follow- 
ing description of it applies in a general way to 
all swine, whether grade or thoroughbred, of 
this particular class: 

Form — Long, deep, smooth, and of medium 
width; sides straight; legs short for the breed; 
head light; back slightly arched; underline 
48 



THE KIND OF STOCK TO BUY 

straight; scale large for age; standard weight, 
170-200 pounds. 

Quality — General refinement of symmetri- 
cal and clear-cut features; bone smooth, fine, 
and strong; skin and hair ^nt and smooth; 
head, neck, and legs short for the breed. 

Condition — Heavily muscled, moderately 
fat; covering firm, smooth, and of uniform 
thickness, especially in sides and belly. 

Constitution — Thoroughly healthy. 

Early Maturity — General refinement, espe- 
cially of head, neck, and legs; width in chest, 
belly, and flanks; body large, extremities small. 

Taking up a description of the three Indi- 
vidual breeds, it will be seen that each has cer- 
tain characteristics not found In either of the 
others. 

The Tamworth has golden-red hair on a 
flesh-colored skin, free from black. Head 
fairly long; snout of moderate length and quite 
straight; face slightly dished and wide between 
the eyes; ears large and carried rather forward; 
neck fairly long and muscular. Shoulders fine 
and slanting; the forequarters proportionately 

49 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

less broad, but hams large; back long and 
straight; chest wide and deep; ribs well sprung, 
extending well up to flank, which should be 
full and well let down; loins long and broad; 
quarters long, wide, and straight from hip to 
tail; belly straight and deep. 

The large Yorkshire varies more or less in 
type, and much skill Is required In selecting 
stock. Some have short turned-up snouts, oth- 
ers long scrawny necks, narrow chests, and long, 
coarse-boned legs. As this breed Is especially 
valued for bacon, where a long side abounding 
In lean meat and a light shoulder and neck are 
especially desirable, great care should be taken 
to pick out pigs with these characteristics well 
defined. 

The head should be moderate In length and 
size with lower jaw well sprung and consider- 
able dish toward snout, which turns upward 
with a short curve; forehead and poll wide; 
jowl medium and not flabby; ear medium In 
size, standing well out from head, of medium 
erection and Inclined slightly forward; neck of 
medium length, fair width and depth, rising 
50 



THE KIND OF STOCK TO BUY 

gradually from poll to withers; muscular, but 
not gross, evenly connecting head with body. 
Shoulder large but not massive or open above. 
Body long, deep, and of medium breadth, 
equally wide at shoulder, side, and hams; top- 
line slightly arched, under-line straight. Bris- 
ket wide and on a level with under-line. Side 
long, deep, straight, and even from shoulder to 
hip. Ribs well arched and deep. Hindquar- 
ters long, to correspond with shoulder and side, 
deep with moderate and gradual drop to tail. 
Heart and flank girth good and about equal. 
Ham large, well let down on thigh, and twist 
and rear outline somewhat rounded. Legs me- 
dium in length, strong, not coarse but standing 
straight and firm. Tail medium, not much in- 
clined to curve. Color white on every part. 
Hair abundant, long, of medium fineness, and 
without any bristles. 

The Berkshire, as will be seen in the follow- 
ing description, is entirely different in shape and 
color froni the Yorkshire. It is black with 
some white in the face, white feet and a white 
tip to the tail. Face well dished, fine and broad 

51 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

between the eyes, which are rather large, and 
dark hazel or gray in color ; snout short, broad, 
and fleshy; ears almost erect, generally inclined 
forward; jowl full and heavy; neck short and 
broad on top; shoulders smooth, even on top, 
in line with the sides, and thick through the 
chest; back broad, long and straight or slightly 
arched; ribs well sprung; sides deep and well 
let down, with straight side and bottom lines; 
flanks should be well back and low down on leg, 
making nearly a straight line with lower part of 
side; full wide loins and deep thick hams ex- 
tending well up on back, and holding thickness 
well down to hock; tail should be well up on 
line with back, and not too fine, short, or taper- 
ing; hair fine and soft; short, strong legs set 
well apart outside the body. 

The bacon pig is raised under conditions that 
are conducive to soil improvement. Born in 
the early spring, it can be pastured all summer 
on alfalfa, clover, or rape, and will make rapid 
growth under ordinary conditions. The Utah 
Experiment Station, in a number of trials, 
proved that pigs running in good pasture will 
52 



THE KIND OF STOCK TO BUY 

make a gain of .36 of a pound a day without 
any grain whatever; while those given a three- 
quarters grain ration In addition to the green 
food make a dally gain of 1.2 pounds, requiring 
only 377 pounds of grain for 100 pounds of 
gain, against 515 pounds for 100 pounds of 
gain for the pen-fed pig. 

Sheep-raising on a large scale Is out of the 
question for the owner of a modest farm; 
but a small flock of the mutton type, handled 
judiciously, will add many dollars to the general 
income. 

There are five breeds Included In the mutton 
type of sheep, namely, Southdowns, Shrop- 
shires, Hampshires, Oxfords, and Dorset 
Horns; and their general characteristics are 
those of the so-called ** meat type '' of all do- 
mestic animals. The form Is compact, thick- 
set, low down, and blocky. The body is deep, 
broad, and of medium length. The top and 
bottom lines are straight. The signs of quality 
are general refinement and symmetry, fine 
smooth bone, with short head, neck, and legs. 
In fat animals the carcass should be covered 

53 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

with deep, firm, mellow, and springy flesh evenly 
distributed without lumpiness or rolls. The 
wool should be uniformly long, dense, and with 
some crimp. The yolk evenly distributed and 
moderately abundant. 

The Shropshires and Southdowns are held in 
especially high esteem as producers of mutton 
and lamb of the finest possible quality in their 
native country. The Hampshires are very pro- 
lific, and twins at a birth is the general rule. 
The Dorsets are noted as early lamb raisers, the 
ewes breeding in June and July instead of in the 
autumn as is the habit of other breeds. This, 
of course, brings the lamb crop in November or 
December; and as the youngsters are ready for 
market when eleven or twelve weeks old, they 
are very eagerly sought after to supply the fancy 
trade, known as the " hot-house lamb " market. 
The Dorsets possess another important charac- 
teristic (not to be overlooked in a country where 
dogs are allowed to run at large, often destroy- 
ing whole flocks of valuable sheep), which is 
that both the male and female have horns ; those 
of the former are long, those of the latter of 
54 



THE KIND OF STOCK TO BUY 

moderate size. But In consequence of this pro- 
tection they are pugnacious and better able to 
defend themselves. 

Breed, however, is not so important as 
proper care and a thorough knowledge of the 
beast. Sheep are particularly sensitive to 
neglect and poor feeding, and need judicious 
looklng-after. 

As to the innumerable breeds of fowls, it 
would be almost Impossible to go into the par- 
ticular virtues of each kind. The principal 
breeds for market purposes are the White and 
the Barred Plymouth Rocks, Light Brahmas, 
White Wyandottes, and White Leghorns. 
There are others whose flesh is as toothsome as 
those mentioned, but the market prefers a white 
feathered fowl with yellow skin and legs. The 
combination of White Plymouth Rocks or 
White Wyandottes, Light Brahmas, and White 
Leghorns (single comb) Is an ideal one, for it 
gives the chance to supply the market with eggs, 
broilers, dnd roasters every month of the year. 
The Rock and Wyandotte are excellent layers 
of fine large brown eggs, and in addition to 

55 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

that the chicks are rapid growers and are ready- 
to market in ten weeks from hatching time. 
The Brahmas also lay a large brown egg; but 
their principal part in the combination is to sup- 
ply fancy roasters and capons, and for this pur- 
pose they have no rivals. 

The Mediterranean breeds, of which the Leg- 
horn is the most widely known, are called non- 
setters, although as a matter of fact they do set 
frequently, but are easily persuaded to change 
their minds. With care and protection from 
cold at night they will produce a large number 
of fine white eggs during the winter months; 
and their chicks also make splendid squab broil- 
ers, the demand for which is continually in- 
creasing. 

Eggs should be packed in fancy boxes hold- 
ing six or a dozen, If Intended for the retail 
trade; or in larger crates, and always with the 
name and address of the farm whence they come 
on the boxes. Thus a proper responsibility Is 
asked for and assured. It cannot be too often 
emphasized that everything Intended for mar- 
ket should be done up and offered In attractive 




PLYMOUTH ROCK HEX THAT LAID 25 1 
EGGS HER FIRST LAYING YEAR, AT THE 
MAINE EXPERIMENT STATION 




TYPICAL LIGHT BRAHMA COCKEREL 
(Owned by Mr. Nettleton, Shelton, Conn.) 



THE KIND OF STOCK TO BUY 

form. The appearance of the article will be 
its best recommendation until the shipper has 
established an adequate reputation. 

In purchasing fowls, always buy thorough- 
breds, good, healthy, sizable birds from a well- 
developed strain of layers or roasters, but do 
not buy show-birds. Every well-known breeder 
carries a large number of birds which, while 
suited for utility purposes may be deficient In 
show points, perhaps as to shape, feathers, or 
carriage; and these birds can always be bought 
at a reasonable figure and prove admirably suited 
to the needs of the market man. The question 
as to whether It Is better to buy eggs from 
breeders and hatch one's own stock, or to buy 
the birds outright, Is a much discussed one. 
The writer much prefers the latter method in 
starting, as he has Invariably found It by far the 
more satisfactory. 

The Pekin duck Is the most suitable of all 
the varieties in this country for market pur- 
poses. Pure white and averaging from seven 
to eight pounds In weight. It Is a prolific layer, 
and the ducklings are ready for market In eight 

57 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

to ten weeks from hatching. At one time it was 
supposed ducks could not be raised without a 
pond for the stock ducks to swim in, but this 
old-fashioned theory is untenable. Vast num- 
bers of ducks are raised with only sufficient wa- 
ter for drinking purposes. On the other hand, 
those fortunate enough to possess brooks or 
ponds where the old ducks can swim claim 
that the birds do better under conditions natural 
to water fowl. To one unfamiliar with ducks, 
the appearance of the drake and that of the duck 
are identical, but on close observation it will be 
seen that the neck of the drake is thicker and 
the head larger and the voice pitched in a lower 
key. There is also the feather near the end of 
the tail which curls over toward the head. 

The question of the selection of a good farm 
team the writer has left to the last, for It is a 
matter of the greatest importance, and the In- 
experienced are too frequently led astray In 
spending overmuch for satisfactory farm teams. 
The shrewd buyer, however, has found that city 
carriage horses whose feet have become tender 
from pounding granite pavements make excel- 
S8 



THE KIND OF STOCK TO BUY 

lent work horses when taken to the country. 
Such animals can be had in the large sales sta- 
bles for prices ranging from seventy-five dollars 
to one hundred and fifty dollars, and they are 
usually finely bred fast walkers, and willing 
workers — all good qualities for a work horse 
to possess. 

A neighbor of the writer had two pairs of 
big, stout grays, In which he took great pride. 
It may be of interest to others to hear how he 
cared for them. 

In the winter he hauled hay to town, some 
twenty miles away, once a week; that was about 
all the work his horses did until spring, but 
when the time came to plough, his teams were 
always In fine condition. His method was to 
cut down the grain ration as soon as the fall 
work was done. From November until March 
he fed in the morning two quarts of small po- 
tatoes, one quart of bran, 4 ears of corn, and 
a small forkful of oat straw to each horse. 
The straw was run through a cutter, moistened, 
and mixed with feed. At noon they each had 
two quarts of sweet apples or carrots and a 

59 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

quart of oats. At night they each had three 
ears of corn, one quart of Unseed meal, two 
quarts of bran, and a forkful of oat and pea 
hay, chopped. Every day these horses were 
brushed and curried until they glistened in the 
sun. The water they drank had the chill taken 
off it in the cold weather, and was always given 
them some little time before feeding. 

The first of March the feed was increased a 
good deal, and the composition changed. In 
the morning each had three quarts of oats, one 
of bran, and a small forkful of hay, chopped, 
wetted, and mixed with the grain. At noon 
the ration consisted of two quarts of oats and 
one of linseed meal for each horse. At night 
each received three quarts of oats, two of bran, 
and a liberal supply of chopped oat and pea 
hay the last thing before closing the stable. 

To harden the shoulders and backs of his 
horses, he washed them every morning through 
the spring with cold salted water. The result 
of this extra care and attention was that my 
neighbor's teams were the envy of the country- 
60 





EXA.MPLES OF THE KIND OF STOCK TO BUY: ABERDEExN- 

ANGUS CATTLE 

(Owned by S. E. Lantz, Congerville, 111.) 



THE KIND OF STOCK TO BUY 

side, and he could have sold them any day for 
five or six hundred dollars a pair. 

We are very apt to forget in feeding our 
horses that they have a smaller stomach, in pro- 
portion to their size, than any other domestic 
animals. Also that horses should never be 
watered after eating, for it has a tendency to 
wash all the food out of their stomachs. There 
is another point worth remembering — that is, 
don't hurry the horses through their meals. 
Give them a chance to digest their food before 
using them. And see that their teeth are al- 
ways in good condition. 

Horses, unlike human beings, are born with 
teeth ready for use. This is perhaps unfor- 
tunate, because their owners are apt to think 
that because the teeth are already there they 
needn't think about them; whereas, it is quite 
as important to care for the teeth of foals as for 
those of children. 

The horse has thirty-six or forty teeth, ac- 
cording to the sex of the animal; these are di- 
vided into thrpe groups — the incisors, the 

6i 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

molars, and the tushes. In front are the in- 
cisors or nippers, on each side the tushes or 
canine teeth, and still farther back, on the sides, 
the molars or grinders. The first are used to 
grasp and cut the food, the second to tear it, 
and the third to bruise and grind It up. In 
an adult male animal there are In each jaw six in- 
cisors, two tush teeth, and twelve molars. The 
points to remember about a horse's teeth are : 

1. There must be an even grinding surface 
at all times, or Improper mastication will result. 

2. The outside enamel of the teeth, which 
presents a ridged surface to the cheek, should 
never be allowed to become sharp, or ulceration 
of the flesh of the cheek will result. 

3. The colt's teeth should be carefully 
watched in order to see that the permanent 
teeth come In in their right places ; for It some- 
times happens that if a milk tooth Is not shed 
when It should be, the permanent tooth which is 
trying to push out will come out at the side of 
the gum instead of In Its proper place. 

A short time ago, a farmer living In Albany 
County had a fine colt which, In spite of all the 
62 



THE KIND OF STOCK TO BUY 

food and care he gave It, continued to grow 
poor In flesh, until at length It was hardly able 
to stand. At this point a veterinary dentist 
happened to stop in to float the teeth of one of 
the other horses, and was asked to look at the 
colt. On examining him he found that the 
molars had become so uneven that he was un- 
able to grind his food properly, which had re- 
sulted In Indigestion and the complete derange- 
ment of his system. The doctor evened up the 
teeth, and to-day the colt Is as nice-looking a 
horse as you could wish to see. 

It not Infrequently happens that a tooth will 
break off or break In half, by contact with some 
hard substance, a stone In the hay, for example; 
then the tooth opposite on the upper or lower 
jaw, as the case may be, will grow too long, not 
having any hard surface to wear against. 
The result Is that the grinders are unable to 
come together evenly and nature, trying to rec- 
tify the unevenness, will cause the grinders to 
grow Irregularly; In the end the horse will be 
unable to masticate his food, and indigestion 
follows. Dr. WIswall, a well-known veterinary 
63 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

dentist, is of the opinion that half of the ail- 
ments which horses develop are caused by neg- 
lect of the teeth. If horse-owners would real- 
ize that horses are apt to suffer from abscesses 
and all the other tooth troubles as human be- 
ings are, they would in many cases save them- 
selves money by applying the ounce of preven- 
tion that is worth a pound of cure. 

Bad habits in horses are often the result of 
neglect of the teeth. Among them are slobber- 
ing, driving on one rein, having the tongue out, 
pulHng on the reins, jerking the head back and 
forth, and taking the bit in the teeth. Slobber- 
ing is caused by the horse's trying to find a com- 
fortable spot for the bit, which, In pressing on 
the tongue, causes It to flatten out, thus bringing 
the sides against some sharp edge of the molars. 
In doing this he keeps his jaws going, causing 
saliva to form, churning It Into a foam, which 
runs from his mouth. The loss of this saliva 
often causes indigestion. Hanging the tongue 
out is done for the same reason, for by lengthen- 
ing the tongue the width is decreased so that the 
sides do not touch the teeth. 

64 



THE KIND OF STOCK TO BUY 

Driving on one rein Is the effort of the horse 
to offset the continual jerking on the reins by 
an Ignorant driver. The horse finds that by- 
getting the bit In front of his molar teeth and 
pulling on one side he can take the pressure off 
some other point which has become sore and 
painful. This habit often becomes so con- 
firmed that the molar on the side on which he 
pulls will be worn Into a hollow to fit the bit. 
Pulling on the reins and jerking the head back 
and forth are habits formed to protect sore lips, 
gums, and teeth, and are always due to Igno- 
rance In handling the reins. Drivers often 
speak of horses " taking the bit In their teeth,'' 
which they never really do. What does happen 
Is that the horse, tired of abuse on the part of 
the driver, endeavors to find some spot In his 
mouth where he can put the bit In a comfortable 
place. He finally learns that by slipping It over 
In front of the molar teeth he can get a good 
purchase on It and easily resist all efforts to 
hurt. 

The mouth of a young foal Is as sensitive as 
a human being's, and, If the colt Is bitted and 

65 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

driven properly with a light hand, will always 
respond to the slightest touch. The bits that 
are the most humane and comfortable are the 
straight-bar, and the leather-covered. Make it 
a rule to have a dentist look over your horses' 
mouths once a year, and you will save not only 
suffering on the part of your animals, but feed 
and strength as well. 



66 



CHAPTER V 

HINTS ON BEEF AND WINTER LAMB 
RAISING ON COUNTRY ESTATES 

MANY owners of country estates could 
take up the raising of prime beef with 
the assurance of deriving a good profit and 
much pleasure from the undertaking. In fact, 
the production of beef requires far less labor 
and trouble than the maintenance of a dairy 
herd. There is an excellent demand for beef, 
and the supply Is far below the demand. 

There are several ways of starting such a 
department on an estate. Cattle known as 
" feeders " may be purchased from the Chicago 
or Buffalo stock yards by the carload ; put right 
on the land where they will be pastured during 
the summer, and fed in yards from November 
until the following June, when they will be 
ready for market. In purchasing feeders, it 

67 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

will be well to remember that the older the ani- 
mals, the more grain will be required to fatten 
them. The price of young feeders ranges be- 
tween twenty-seven dollars and thirty-five dol- 
lars delivered at the purchaser's station. The 
cost of feeding will be about fifteen dollars a 
head for grain during the winter. From this 
should be deducted the value of the manure 
voided by the animals, which will be about five 
tons each during the time they are in the 
yards. Such manure is worth at least two 
dollars a ton. Cattle of this grade are usually 
sold on the hoof when fat, for export, and 
fetch between fifty-five dollars and sixty-five dol- 
lars each in the barn. 

The wisest way, however, for a novice to 
start In this business would be to purchase from 
a reliable breeder, say three heifer calves and 
a bull calf of either the Hereford or Aberdeen- 
Angus breed, and raise them to start a herd. 
The bull calf should be unrelated to the heifers. 
When the latter are twenty to twenty-six months 
old, they should be bred for the first time. All 
the females should be raised to increase the 
68 




DORSET LAMB, 1 5 WEEKS OLD, THE KIND USED TO SUPPLY 
THE FANCY MARKET WITH HOT-HOUSE LAMBS IN 

WINTER 

(Owned by Fillmore Farm, Bennington, Vt.) 




SOUTHDOWN YEARLING WETHER, TYPICAL MUTTON 
TYPE, GRAND CHAMPION OVER ALL BREEDS 

(Owned by Sir George Drummond, Huntlywood Farm, 
Beaconsfield, Canada) 



BEEF AND WINTER LAMB RAISING 

herd, while the bulls should be castrated when 
three manths old and forced for baby beef. 
This name Is applied to young cattle finished 
for the market at the age of ten to sixteen 
months. 

In order to produce this choicest of all beef, 
the youngsters must be fed well from the very 
start. They are left with their mothers until 
weaned, and are taught to eat grain when but 
a few weeks old. At first, a small handful is 
given; then gradually this is increased, until, at 
the age of six months, they are consuming daily 
7J^ lb. of grain each, in addition to a liberal 
supply of good clover or alfalfa hay. At that 
time a ration composed of 5 lb. corn, 2 lb. oats, 
and Yt. lb. of oil meal is recommended by Prof. 
H. R. Smith of the Nebraska Experiment Sta- 
tion, where large numbers of beef cattle are 
fatted annually. If no legumes are raised, the 
oil meal should be increased to one pound a 
day. Corn ensilage is excellent for calves, pre- 
venting digestive disorders due to heavy grain 
feeding. Fed in this manner, steady progress 
will be made until the time arrives for the 

69 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

youngsters to be sold for beef, when they should 
weigh about looo lb. apiece. 

The following table, compiled by the U. S. 
Department of Agriculture, gives an excellent 
idea of the comparative advantage of producing 
baby over long- fed beef: 

Long- 
Baby fed 
beef beef 
ONE STEER (av. (av. 

of 10 of 10 

steers) steers) 

Days on feed 700 913 

Weight when put on experiment, lb. . 122 107 

Weight when slaughtered, lb. . . . 1,297 1,235 

Gain during feeding period, lb. . . . I,I7S 1,128 

Daily rate of gain, lb 1.68 1.26 

Feed eaten : 

Roots and ensilage, lb I5,793 19.529 

Hay, lb 1,150 1,315 

Skim milk, lb 1,645 1,592 

Rape, lb 70 

Meal, lb 3,809 1,405 

Pasture, months 9 

Total cost of feed $63.06 $59.66 

Cost per 100 lb. increase live weight . 3.35 5.29 

Selling price per 100 lb. live weight . 5.62 4.78 

The feed for feeders will be quite different. 
If the roughage consists of clover, cow-pea hay, 
or alfalfa hay, corn will be the only grain neces- 
sary. Should there be no legumes, the grain 
feed should consist of one-fifth to one-fourth of 
70 



BEEF AND WINTER LAMB RAISING 

oil meal, cottonseed, or gluten. The daily feeding 
will be as follows: Morning, a feed of fodder 
corn, which has been drilled In rather thick and 
with the ears left on; In the evening, shelled 
corn with a liberal supply of alfalfa, cow-pea 
hay, or clover hay. When the pastures begin 
to dry up, the first of the corn fodder should be 
fed In racks in the feed lot. 

It is essential in raising beef to know the char- 
acteristics of a prime beast; for In order to com- 
mand the top price the animal must be in the 
pink of condition. The butcher demands a 
high state of development In loins, crops, back 
thighs, twist, and lump. He demands develop- 
ment In these parts because they are the parts 
from which are secured the highest-priced cuts. 
The animal must show plenty of depth and 
breadth, providing a large surface for flesh, 
without the objectionable tendency to be 
paunchy. 

He also seeks smooth, well-rounded outlines, 
which indicate both evenness of flesh and an 
absence of that tendency to be rough and coarse, 
which would mean loss to him, the waste In 

71 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

dressing a rough, coarse beast being out of pro- 
portion to the marketable beef. In addition 
to securing satisfactory development of these 
parts, the butcher has an eye to the added value 
secured In thick, even flesh throughout, on the 
cheaper as well as the more valuable parts of 
the carcass. 

H. W. Mumford, professor of animal hus- 
bandry at the University of Illinois, in writing 
on the quality of steers, divides the term into 
two subdivisions — general quality, and quality 
of flesh, or condition. The former is indicated 
In a fat steer by a medium-sized, fine, clean-cut, 
breedy-featured head, bearing ears of moderate 
size and texture; short legs, with clean, fine 
bone; a fine, nicely tapering tail; fine hair; a 
pliable skin of medium thickness, and smooth, 
well-rounded outlines. On the quality and con- 
dition of the animal depends the quality of beef. 
" Conditions " meaning, In this case, the degree 
of fatness of a steer. 

It should not be assumed that the best beef Is 
found In the fattest beast. There are two prin- 
cipal reasons for fattening a steer — (a) so to 
72 



BEEF AND WINTER LAMB RAISING 

fill the beast inside and out with fat that when 
dressed there will be but a small percentage of 
waste. In other words, a fat animal is one, in 
Professor Mumford's opinion, that will dress a 
higher percentage than a half fat or thin one; 
and further, in the fat animal the proportion of 
those parts which from their very nature are un- 
salable is reduced to the minimum, (b) That 
the flesh or lean meat shall be rendered more 
tender, juicy, and of better flavor by the disposi- 
tion of fat throughout Its substance. 

The methods used in growing and fattening 
beef Influence the quality of the flesh, although 
there Is a quality of flesh peculiar to the Indi- 
vidual quite Independent of outside Influence. 
Desirable quality in flesh Is Indicated by a firm, 
yet mellow and springy consistency of flesh at 
the crops, along the back, along the loins, and 
even on the sides, beneath the gentle pressure of 
the outstretched hand. The best quality of 
flesh Is Indicated In the fat steers by the absence 
of ties and rolls, or patches of gaudy, flabby fat. 
Fulness at the base of the tongue; fulness or a 
roll of fat In front of point of shoulder; a full 

73 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

twist; a large mellow cod; a low, full, thick 
flank that stands out and rolls visibly as the 
animal walks; fulness and smoothness at rump 
and tail-head, indicate that degree of fatness 
which is essential to the highest quality in beef. 

The labor of caring for beef cattle is small 
compared with the work required for a herd of 
milch cattle. A building suitable for wintering 
steers will cost little, as a plain shed-roof struc- 
ture with folding doors on the south side, pro- 
vided with plenty of windows, will suffice. The 
floor may be either of vitrified brick or cement. 
In building such a floor, first dig out the soil to 
the depth of two feet, then fill in with cinders 
within a foot of the surface, dampen and tamp 
well. Over this place a layer of tarred paper 
with the joints well lapped. The concrete floor 
or bricks may then be laid with the assurance 
that the floor will never be damp. Provide run- 
ning water and plenty of straw for bedding. 

The demand for lamb in midwinter is grow- 
ing rapidly and has already outstripped the sup- 
ply. It is generally admitted that the Dorset- 
Horns are the best breed for winter lambs. In 
74 



BEEF AND WINTER LAMB RAISING 

their native home, Dorsetshire, England, this 
breed has been so long under the moulding 
hand of its shepherds, that it has lost its natural 
instinct of lambing on grass, and now the lambs 
come in the late fall or early winter. In bring- 
ing the Dorset to this country we have changed 
the conditions entirely, and we must in some 
measure supply surroundings like those to which 
it has been accustomed. These conditions, Mr. 
J. E. Wing tells us exactly how to reach : 

" Let us start from what we might call a basis of 
comparison. In Dorsetshire the ram Is usually coupled 
with the ewes during June and July, but in this cli- 
mate that any large and uniform success in breeding 
Dorsets as late as June and July will result, I think 
improbable. The natural time of mating is fall, Oc- 
tober and November, cool months. So if we want 
them to breed In spring we should select cool periods. 
This seems a simple thing, yet like many simple things, 
is overlooked. When I started with Dorsets we were 
told they would breed any time of the year; also that 
June was the month to mate them for fall lambs. I 
tried them in June, but with partial success only. 
This experience convinced me that while Dorsets will, 
in isolated cases, breed at any time of year, ' any time ' 
must be a time when conditions are right. I was 
now on the true track and realized that for spring 

75 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

breeding we must select a time as near like the natural 
period of fall as possible, and have the ewes as near 
like their natural fall condition as possible. To meet 
these desired conditions I suggest the observance of 
the following: 

" I. Have the ram with ewes not earlier than the 
middle of March, not later than middle of May. 

*' 2. Put the ram with the ewes nights, not daj^s. 

*' 3. Use young ram, and feed him well while in 
service. 

" 4. Do not have ram too fat. 

" 5. Do not have ewes too thin. 

" 6. If ewes were not shorn in fall, shear as early 
as you dare. 

" 7. Feed ewes green food, such as ensilage, turnips, 
carrots, mangels, etc., with some corn." 

Of course if the ewes lambed the previous 
fall and are dry, It Is not necessary to feed in 
that way until a few weeks before you put the 
ram with them. But be sure to feed them well 
at that time. Do not forget that the natural 
tendency of the ewes Is to put on flesh In the 
fall and to lose It In the spring. This we must 
reverse as much as possible by feeding, and the 
extra feed should be " green as grass." 



76 



CHAPTER VI 

FEEDS AND FEEDING 

The Right Basis for Food Tables — A 
Few Very Simple Directions Regarding 
THE Feed for Various Kinds of Live- 
stock. 

IT should, of course, be the aim of every 
owner of a country place to-raise, as far as 
possible, all food consumed by the live-stock on 
the farm. If his farm Is located In the oat belt 
or north of the northern half of Pennsylvania, 
all feed should be grown on the place except 
cottonseed or gluten meal, wheat, and bran. 

Home-grown foods are divided Into two 
groups; those raised for winter feed and those 
raised In the way of soiling crops for summer 
feed. The former class Includes grasses, corn, 
oats', peas, barley, and roots. To the latter 
class belong clover, field and sweet corn, oats 

77 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

and peas, rye, barley and peas, alfalfa, cow- 
peas, soy beans, and millet. The soiling crops 
are cut green and fed either in the barn or in 
racks In a feed lot. There are other kinds of 
forage plants, but the ones cited are those most 
commonly in use. 

As the food requirement of animals depends 
largely upon the work demanded of them, each 
species must be considered separately. Thus 
work horses require muscle-making rather than 
carbonaceous foods, especially from the begin- 
ning of spring work until the crops are har- 
vested. Therefore a food ration of ten quarts 
of oats, one of cracked corn, ten pounds of 
mixed hay, and six quarts of bran in the form 
of a warm mash on Saturday night, will keep 
them in good condition. In winter, unless there 
Is much work on hand, corn fodder run through 
a cutter, with six or seven ears of corn, can be 
fed in the morning. At noon two quarts of 
oats and one of bran are sufficient and at night 
hay and corn on the ear can be fed again. 

No formula, however, for feeding should be 
taken as Inviolable, as animals vary almost as 

78 




P^^flJB 


^^^|HHE«^ ^^RHHF^ 


ir^ 




^^^-_j_„. 


^K~ 



\ 



FEEDS AND FEEDING 

much as human beings in their physical needs, 
and a change of diet Is as grateful to a horse 
as to a man. Half a cup of molasses mixed 
with the oats and bran, or a change from mixed 
hay to oat and pea h^y makes a good variety oc- 
casionally. Horses should be watered before 
feeding as the water passes directly through the 
stomach and small intestines to the caecum (one 
of the large intestines) . Hay should not be fed 
at noon if horses are working, unless ample 
time is allowed them to rest and digest the food. 
There are innumerable books on cattle-feed- 
ing; but a few simple rules will suffice for the 
man willing to give some thought to the subject. 
Cows, of course. In their natural wild state 
merely gave sufficient milk to nourish their calves 
until they learned to eat grass, when the moth- 
ers remained dry until the following spring. 
Man, by care and scientific feeding, has so de- 
veloped bossy's capacity of milk-giving that she 
now sustains the flow until within a few weeks of 
calving again. This has been done by supply- 
ing food whose chemical constituents are found 
in the cow's milk. Food is defined as any ma- 
79 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

terial which, on being digested and assimilated, 
is capable of forming or repairing tissues and 
yielding energy; and as It must supply all needs 
of the body. It usually contains all classes of 
nutrients. Each nutrient has certain distinct 
functions. The principal nutrients to which the 
feeder should give especial attention are protein, 
carbohydrates, and fat. 

Protein is a flesh-former, an energy-maker, a 
repairer of wear and tear; and from it are 
formed flesh, tendons, cartilage, and the nitrog- 
enous part of milk. Its primary function Is 
tissue-building, and without protein no hair, 
flesh, nor milk can be made. A cow giving fif- 
teen pounds of milk per day gives therein one- 
half pound of protein ; It Is apparent, then, that 
protein, more than any other one thing, governs 
the milk. 

Carbohydrates and fat are so similar they 
may be considered together. They are the main 
supply of fuel which maintains bodily heat; they 
also produce energy used In muscular motion. 
But an excess of carbohydrates or fat will tend 
to overproduce fat In any animal so fed. 
80 



FEEDS AND FEEDING 

" These nutrients," says Brooks, " when di- 
gested, serve to protect the more costly protein 
from over-consumption by the vital processes, 
and are probably a main source of material for 
the manufacture of milk fat." In order, then, 
that the food shall meet the proper requirements 
it must contain the three nutrients in such propor- 
tion as will best meet the special object in view. 
It has been decided, after innumerable experi- 
ments by the best authorities, that for the most 
economical production of milk and butter-fat, 
a ration in the proportion of 1 15.4 should be fed. 
Translating these figures into words, and quoting 
Brooks, we find that '' a nutritive ratio designates 
the relation which exists between the total nitro- 
gen-containing constituents of a food (crude pro- 
tein) and the total digestible non-nitrogenous 
constituents. 'The statement that the nutritive 
ratio of a given food or combination of feeds is 
1 :5.4 means simply that it contains five times as 
great a quantity of digestible carbohydrates and 
fat as of digestible protein." 

I fear this knowledge would be of little prac- 
tical use to the average man of business unfa- 

81 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

miliar with chemical laws, were it not that our 
agricultural colleges supply us with bulletins 
containing " convenience tables," which may be 
had for the asking, and which give the pounds 
of dry matter and digestible ingredients in vary- 
ing weights of fodders and feeds. Armed with 
this information and the Wolf standard of daily 
nutrients required for milch cows weighing looo 
pounds (also obtainable through the State agri- 
cultural colleges), it is a simple matter to figure 
the proper ration from crops grown on the farm. 
To illustrate the use of these " convenience 
tables " : Suppose a farm produces corn, oats, 
and grasses, and the owner wishes to make a 
balanced feed from them for his cows, with the 
addition of a small quantity of concentrated 
milk feed. Part of the corn crop he would 
cut green and turn into silage, the balance would 
be allowed to ripen and be ground into corn 
meal and cracked corn. The oats, for the cows, 
would be ground also. But the first steps to- 
ward making up a ration are more or less guess- 
work, and It Is impossible to tell without trying 
different food combinations, just whether or not 
82 



FEEDS AND FEEDING 

they will produce a ration of 1 15 or i :6. It 
is best, therefore, to experiment a bit on paper 
until one finds a combination that will approxi- 
mate the standard as nearly as possible. 

The Wolf standard of feeding states that a 
cow giving between twenty-two and twenty-five 
pounds of milk per day requires 25 pounds of 
dry matter, 2.6 pounds of protein, and 15.12 
pounds of carbohydrates and fat together. 
Here it Is well to remind the reader that the 
ratio of foods is not expressed In the terms of 
the relative weights of different constituents 
used, but in terms of the relative quantities of 
energy yielded by them. Thus protein and 
carbohydrates are about equal, weight for 
weight, in energy-yielding power; but the aver- 
age fat of feeds yields about two and one-fourth 
times as much energy as an equal weight of 
average carbohydrates. So as the nutritive 
ratio of a ration Is the ratio of the energy of Its 
digestible protein to the energy of its digestible 
non-protein, It Is equal to the ratio of the 
weight of digestible protein to the weight 
of digestible ^carbohydrates, plus 2j4 times the 

83 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

weight of digestible fat. (In some " conven- 
ience tables " this Is added to the fat, and the 
total added to the carbohydrates.) 

With these few facts clearly In mind, a start 
can be made, using the form given below for 
convenience : 

Fat and 
Dry Carbohy- 

Feed Pounds Matter Protein drates 

Corn silage .... 35 9.2 .42 6.2 

Clover rowen hay . . 10 9.2 .85 4.2 

Oats, ground .... 3 2.7 .28 1.7 

Total 48 21. 1 1.55 12. 1 

Standard 25.0 2.6 15.12 

As such a ration Is lacking In all necessary 
elements, we must proceed to try different feeds, 
carefully noting In figuring up the totals what 
elements are lacking, until we end with a ration 
about as follows: 



Fat and 

Dry Carbohy- 

Feed Pounds Matter Protein drates 

35 9.2 .42 6.2 

12^ II. 5 1.07 5.2 

3 2.7 .28 1.7 

2^ 2.3 1. 00 i.o 

2 1.7 .13 1-4 



Corn silage . . 
Clover rowen hay 
Oats, ground . 
Cotton seed 
Corn meal 



Total 55 27.4 2.90 15.5 

84 



FEEDS AND FEEDING 

Dividing the carbohydrates and fat by the 
total protein, we have 1 15.3, which Is near 
enough to the standard for all practical pur- 
poses. Such a ration, of course. Is Intended for 
winter; for summer one composed of green 
foods can be figured up In the same way. 

In feeding cows In summer (from May until 
November) It Is not only more economical, but 
a better flow of milk is kept up. If green food 
Is carried to them, and only enough exercise Is 
permitted to keep them in good health. For 
this purpose a lot one hundred feet square Is 
ample for ten cows. 

The following plan was found satisfactory In 
a dairy of eight cows on a small farm. The 
cows were turned out at night from May 1 5 to 
Oct. I In a yard one hundred feet square, with 
an open shed for shelter from rain and with run- 
ning water. At 6 A. M. the cows were taken 
Into the stable, which was kept In a semi-dark 
state, and with window screens to keep out flies; 
they were cleaned, fed, and milked, and left to 
rest until noon, when they were watered and fed 
again, then left In peace until evening, when 

85 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

after milking they were turned out for the night. 
All raising and handling of green fodder was 
done as follows: The first crop was fall-sown 
rye; when this was in head, cutting began with a 
one-horse mower, which cut a two days' supply. 
This was brought to the barn in a light one-horse 
wagon and the mower, covered with canvas, was 
left in the field. Thus there was one day's ra- 
tion always ahead and ready to feed. As soon 
as a strip of rye a few rods wide was cut, the 
land was immediately ploughed and planted to 
sweet corn drilled in twelve inches apart, and 
the soil was carefully cultivated to force the 
crops ahead as rapidly as possible. Clover 
planted in the previous September filled in the 
gap between the rye and the oats and the peas, 
which were planted in April and May and cut 
in June and July. By the time the last of the 
latter were cut, the sweet corn was ready, and 
with successive plantings lasted until frost. 

The feeding of swine requires more judg- 
ment than the average man supposes; and the 
particular object in view — whether it be bacon, 
ham, or pork-raising — should never be lost 
86 



FEEDS AND FEEDING 

sight of. For Instance, the raiser of bacon 
hogs should never feed corn meal in large quan- 
tities, but use barley, peas, and oats, shorts and 
skimmed milk. Legumes, such as clover, al- 
falfa, or rape, together with a judicious mix- 
ture of the cereals mentioned will give the best 
results In producing bacon of the finest quality. 
On the proper feeding of brood-sows will de- 
pend the success or failure of this particular 
department. Ventilation, sunshine, thorough 
cleanliness, and wholesome food are the founda- 
tion stones on which to build. " In feeding 
breeding-sows," says a well-known authority, 
" the aim must be to supply the nutrients needed 
for maintenance of growth, and such additional 
food as may be required for the pigs in utero or 
nursing, as the case may be. Good pasture 
(clover, alfalfa, or blue grass) Is the cheapest 
food and furnishes the elements most needed to 
build a strong, bony framework and a well de- 
veloped muscular system." Where alfalfa Is 
not grown In the Northern States, Canadian 
field peas together with June grass will form 
the chief pasture feed. Sows should be allowed 

87 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

the run of the pasture as long as the weather 
permits. If the sows are to produce only one 
litter a year they should come In In March or 
the first of April. When two litters are raised 
the second litter should arrive In September. 
Sows should be In good physical condition, 
though not fat, when bred, and the young are 
carried from 112 to 116 days. In feeding 
sows that are to produce only one litter a year 
all the best breeders see to It that the pigs are 
weaned by the first of August. The mothers 
then need nothing except good pasture and 
plenty of pure water until October, when some 
corn (about two pounds per head) Is given to 
Increase the weight. After the sows are bred 
again they are returned to pasture and fed 
from three to four pounds of a mixture made up 
of equal parts corn and oats, until December; 
then the feed Is changed to ground corn 2 parts, 
ground oats 2 parts, and bran i part. These 
rations are mixed and fed In the proportion of 
five or six pounds per animal. They may be 
fed dry or mixed with skimmed milk until a 
stiff slop Is made. In addition to the grain in 
88 



FEEDS AND FEEDING 

the winter, good clover, alfalfa, or pea hay 
should be given. As sows carrying young are 
liable to constipation, which leads to a feverish 
condition at the time of parturition, great care 
should be used to regulate the bowels by feeding 
more bulky food, such as clover hay or, prefer- 
ably, more wheat bran. 

When the little pigs arrive, the mother 
should be watched carefully that she does not 
lie on them accidentally. No food should be 
given her until twenty- four hours after the pigs 
are born, but plenty of lukewarm water to 
drink. The second day a light feed made up 
of I part ground corn, i part ground oats, 2 
parts shorts should be given mixed with 
skimmed milk in the proportion of 4 pounds 
of milk to I of grain. This feed should be 
gradually Increased until by the end of ten days 
the sow receives all the mixture she will eat, and 
the milk should always be sweet. The follow- 
ing grain ration taken from Bailey's *' Cyclo- 
paedia of American Agriculture," may, If de- 
sired, be substituted for the one given above: 
In Northern States barley 2, peas i, shorts i 

89 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

part; barley 3, peas i part; barley i, oats i, 
and shorts i part. In Southern States, corn 3, 
cowpeas 2 parts; corn 2, cowpeas i part mixed 
with skimmed milk; corn 3, soy beans i part; 
corn 5, and tankage i part. 

Poultry-feeding, on our large commercial 
plants, has been reduced to a science, and the 
dry-feed method has been generally adopted 
with success. Fowls, In their natural state, 
lived on weeds, seeds, grass, and Insects. In 
their domesticated condition these food elements 
are supplied by grains, cut clover, alfalfa, and 
beets. The dry feeder alms to supply all these 
elements and In addition others that will enable 
the fowls to store up a surplus of those ele- 
ments which go toward making eggs. The 
foods which are chiefly used are corn meal, bran, 
middlings, gluten meal, linseed meal, and beef 
scraps. These are mixed dry In the following 
proportions : wheat bran 200 pounds, corn meal 
100 pounds, middlings 100 pounds, gluten meal 
100 pounds, linseed meal 100 pounds, and beef 
scraps 100 pounds. A feed hopper of sufficient 
size to keep twenty-five fowls supplied for at 
90 



FEEDS AND FEEDING 

least three days should be made and hung on 
the wall of each pen and filled with the above 
mixture. There should also be supplied a 
smaller hopper filled with ground oyster shells, 
grit, and coarsely ground charcoal. In the 
early morning each pen of twenty-five birds 
should be fed one quart of screened whole corn 
scattered on the litter, and this litter should be 
at least 6 or 7 inches deep on the floor. At 
ten o'clock one quart of half-and-half oats and 
wheat is fed; and that is all that is given during 
the day, as the fowls feed themselves from the 
hopper. In winter 16 ounces of clover hay cut 
into half-inch lengths is added to each pen of 
twenty-five (fed in slatted boxes). 

For little chicks nothing better than " chick- 
feed," composed of finely broken grain seeds, 
has been discovered. This in addition to plenty 
of pure water, ground charcoal, and grit will 
be all that is necessary. The feed should be 
scattered in a litter of chopped straw or hay, in 
small quantities (a handful for 50 chicks), 
about five times a day for the first three or four 
weeks and then three times will be enough. 

91 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

After the little chicks are a month old, small 
hoppers should be provided with the following 
mixture and kept before them constantly: 2 
parts wheat bran, 2 parts corn meal, i part 
sifted beef scraps and J4 part linseed meal. 
This of course should be thoroughly mixed be- 
fore putting In the hopper, and the hard grain 
need only be fed night and morning after the 
hopper-feeding begins. It is well for the poul- 
try-raiser to keep in mind that plenty of exer- 
cise, warm sleeping quarters, cleanliness, and a 
watchful eye are the essential requirements for 
a full egg-basket during the winter months. 



92 



CHAPTER VII 

CROPS, FERTILIZERS, HOW TO USE 
THEM AND THE WOODLOT 

The Proper Preparation of Manure One 
OF THE Most Important Elements in 
Successful Farming — Various Kinds 
OF Fertilizers and How They should 
BE Applied — Rotation in Crops as It 

HAS BECOME SCIENTIFICALLY DEMON- 
STRATED — Corn Still Remains a Most 
Important Crop and Difficult to Deal 
With. 

THE day has passed when we may expect 
to raise large crops without the use of 
fertilizers. Drought may be overcome by Irri- 
gation, and to a certain extent by the use of dust 
mulch; Insects and fungus diseases may be pre- 
vented by spraying, but without an abundant 
supply of plant food failure will result, even 
93 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

though all other demands of the growing crops 
have been attended to. 

To take up the whole subject of fertilizers 
and their use in detail would require many 
chapters; it is well, therefore, to confine oneself 
to a few general rules, which will sufficiently 
cover most instances. There are three princi- 
pal elements of plant food which are, as a rule, 
lacking in soils, in available form — nitrogen, 
phosphoric acid, and potash. In well rotted 
barnyard manure will be found all these ele- 
ments so necessary to the growth of plants ; and 
such humus composed of both horse and cow 
manure, well mixed, containing liquids as well 
as solids. Is better than any commercial fertil- 
izers that can be purchased; for in addition to 
Its plant food constituents the humus added by 
the bedding and the undigested food are of 
great value to the soil In helping to open ft up, 
and so allowing the air and warmth to pene- 
trate It. 

Unfortunately the supply of barnyard man- 
ure Is generally limited, so we have either to 
resort to horse manure from the city stables, 
94 



CROPS AND FERTILIZERS 

which Is usually sold by the carload, or commer- 
cial fertilizers. The former, if properly fer- 
mented, in addition to small quantities of 
fertilizers, is a very satisfactory substitute for 
barnyard manure. 

The first essential, then, is the proper 
handling and storing of the manure. The 
dung of domestic animals contains one-third of 
the total nitrogen (the most expensive plant 
food we have to purchase) , one-fifth of the total 
potash, and nearly all the phosphoric acid 
voided by the animal. Its constituents are not 
soluble, and consequently not immediately avail- 
able as the food of plants. The urine contains 
about two-thirds of the total nitrogen, one-fifth 
of the total potash, and but a small quantity of 
the phosphoric acid voided. The necessity, 
then, of preserving all the urine is at once ap- 
parent; and the best way to do this in the horse 
stable is to provide plenty of short straw cut in 
two-inch lengths by means of a cutter, and to 
keep the gutters filled with dry earth sprinkled 
with land plaster. Of course this would ap- 
ply only to the farm stable. The manure in 

95 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

the cow stable should be carried out frequently, 
at least three times daily, and thrown into a 
manure pit or carried directly to the fields. The 
manure pit should have concrete sides and a 
watertight bottom ; the walls may be eight feet, 
four feet above ground and four below. Into 
this should run the drain from the coach stable. 
One end of the pit should be left open the width 
of a farm wagon with a concrete incline leading 
to the bottom, so that a wagon may be backed 
into it. No roof is needed; indeed it is better 
for the rain to fall on the manure, as it aids in 
keeping it moist. The finer the manure the 
more quickly it becomes available and the easier 
it is to handle with the manure spreader. 

The proper rotation of crops is an impor- 
tant factor in the successful management of an 
estate. " The term * crop rotation,' " says Pro- 
fessor Brooks, " is used to designate the system 
whereby different crops are made to succeed 
each other in a certain, regular or definite or- 
der." 

The. reasons for rotating crops are, that dif- 
ferent crops consume different elements in vary- 

96 



CROPS AND FERTILIZERS 

ing proportions, and no two crops have the same 
capacity for extracting different food elements 
from the same soil. It Is advantageous, then, 
to follow a crop that requires, for example, a 
large amount of potash by one that requires but 
little of that particular constituent. Again, 
deep-rooted plants should be followed by shal- 
low-rooted ones. Then there are the nitrogen- 
gathering crops (legumes) that have the abil- 
ity to gather all the nitrogen they need from 
the air; there are crops that have to take their 
supply of nitrogen from the soil; and finally, 
there are certain crops subject to attack from 
parasitic fungi and Insect pests ; and as the fungus 
and the Insect that grow in and live off one 
plant are powerless to thrive on others, they 
can be held In check by the planting of different 
crops In the same field in rotation. 

Where dairying Is prominent, and where po- 
tatoes are a profitable crop, an excellent rota- 
tion would be: Potatoes, followed by corn 
for two years (the first year for a matured crop, 
and second year for silage) ; then grass and 
clover for three years. This Is a six-course ro- 
97 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

tation; and under this plan one-half the ground 
would be annually in grass. The potatoes are 
raised largely on fertilizers, as barnyard man- 
ure has a tendency to make them scaly, particu- 
larly If applied in the spring. The barnyard 
manure is applied to the corn crops; and the 
grass and clover are sown in the standing corn 
at the time of the last cultivation. 

While the principle of crop rotation applies 
to all farms, yet every owner of a country place 
must be prepared to a large extent to meet con- 
ditions not found perhaps on any other place. 
Possibly he will not wish to go in for dairying, 
but rather to have a few cows and sheep, and 
raise a fine colt or two. In that case more oats, 
grass, and corn will be needed, and only a small 
area will be devoted to potatoes. In any event 
It will be found that the general rules of 
deep-rooted crops followed by shallow-rooted 
ones, and cultivated crops by uncultivated ones, 
will always prove applicable. 

How much fertilizer to use on a given crop 
depends In a large measure on the money value 
of the crop. For example, if an acre of oats 

98 



CROPS AND FERTILIZERS 

produces fifty bushels of oats and one and one- 
half tons of straw, the gross profit with oats at 
fifty cents and straw at ten dollars would be 
forty dollars. Allowing eighteen dollars as the 
cost of the crop harvested, we would have a 
net profit of twenty-two dollars. On such a 
crop no man would think of spending more than 
five dollars for fertihzer. On the other hand, 
on an acre of strawberries fetching three hun- 
dred dollars or four hundred dollars gross, he 
could well afford to spend fifty dollars or even 
more for fertilizer. 

The thought of mixing one's own fertilizer 
seems to the uninitiated a Herculean task. It 
is, however, a simple matter and well worth 
doing, as It saves expense and assures better re- 
sults; for by simply ordering the different In- 
gredients of a fertilizer formula one can be 
quite sure of getting just the right proportions 
of each constituent. 

Different fruits, vegetables, and grains re- 
quire, of course, different proportions of the 
three principal elements of plant food. For 
example, corn requires more phosphoric acid 
99 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

than potatoes; while peas and beans require no 
nitrogen fertilizer, as they have the ability to 
gather nitrogen from the air. 

The following fertilizer mixtures compiled 
by Brooks will be found to give excellent results 
In most cases. Amounts given are for one acre. 

For wheat, sown in September or early Oc- 
tober, 600 lb. drilled in at the time of seeding: 

Pounds in 100 
of the mixture 

Fine-ground bone 45 

Acid phosphate 10 

South Carolina rock phosphate .... 20 
High-grade sulphate of potash ... 25 

When the grain begins to start in spring, 
broadcast 150 lb. nitrate of soda. 

For oats, barley (sown in spring) when grain 
starts, broadcast 150 lb. nitrate of soda. 

For corn use the barnyard manure at rate of 
10 tons, and supplement with 600 lb. of — 

Pounds in lOO 
of the mixture 

Fine-ground bone 30 

Nitrate of soda 20 

Acid phosphate 30 

High-grade sulphate of potash .... 20 

Or, if no barnyard manure is to be had, 
use 800 to 1000 lb. of — 
100 



CROPS AND FERTILIZERS 

Pounds in loo 
of the mixture 

Nitrate of soda lo 

Dried blood lo 

Tankage or dry-ground fish .... 20 

Acid phosphate 30 

High-grade sulphate of potash .... 30 

For oats and peas when planted together as 
a soiling crop, broadcast 250 lb. of above mix- 
ture at the time of sowing. 

For mangel-wurzels, sugar beets, carrots, and 
parsnips, when ten tons of barnyard manure 
are used apply 600 lb. of — 

Pounds in 100 
of the mixture 

Nitrate of soda 15 

Dried blood 15 

Tankage or dry-ground fish 25 

Acid phosphate 20 

High-grade sulphate of potash .... 25 

When no manure is used increase to 1 200 lb. 
For potatoes and onions 1400 lb. of — 

Pounds in 100 
of the mixture 

Nitrate of soda 15 

Dried blood ... 18 

Tankage or dry-ground fish 20 

Acid phosphate 30 

High-grade sulphate of potash .... 17-100 

To any one desiring further information on 
this subject, the State agricultural colleges and 

lOI 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

experiment stations are always ready to send 
without charge Information on all subjects per- 
taining to agriculture, horticulture, floriculture, 
etc. 

The question of what crops to raise, will in 
a large measure depend upon what department 
of the farm is to be the money-maker. If the 
dairy is to be developed, then, corn, grasses, and 
forage crops, oats, peas, rye, sweet corn, and 
clover will be the principal crops. If a general 
farm is to be developed, which is, in many re- 
spects, the most interesting for those who wish 
the greatest enjoyment from their estates, then 
the tillable land may be divided about evenly. 
The following rotation from three Eastern 
States will serve to show how such a system is 
maintained : Cornell University Farm — four- 
course rotation for dairying, cows pastured, 
clay loam. First year, corn cut for silage. 
Second year, oats. Third year, wheat and tim- 
othy and clover sown. Fourth year, meadow 
cut twice. Massachusetts — five-course, soil me- 
dium loam, good; i, corn manured for grain; 
2, corn manured, cut for silage, grass and 

102 



CROPS AND FERTILIZERS 

clover sown in corn; 3, grass and clover mown 
twice; 4, grass and clover sometimes fertilized 
and mown twice; 5, grass and clover usually 
fertilized and mown twice. Connecticut — i, 
corn manured, cut for silage and rye sown in fall 
for cover crop and ploughed under; 2, corn cut 
for silage and rye sown in fall; 3, rye and 
seeded to timothy and clover; 4, timothy and 
clover mown and retained as long as possible. 

None of these rotations provide for soiling 
crops; but to add clover, winter rye, oats and 
peas, and sweet corn would be a very simple 
matter. 

While proper planting of crops is of the ut- 
most importance, the actual work is not very 
complicated with the modern machinery now on 
the market. 

If possible use riding tools for they save not 
only time, but labor. The first spring crops to 
be planted as soon as the ground has been pre- 
pared will be potatoes, oats, and peas. No 
crops will succeed unless the soil has been made 
mellow and fine by ploughing and harrowing. 
Potatoes ar,e, as a rule, cut to one eye and 
103 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

planted by machinery built for that purpose, at 
the rate of ten bushels per acre, the fertilizer 
being distributed at the same time. As soon as 
the green shoots appear it is well to begin cul- 
tivating and to keep it up until the leaves meet 
across the rows. Level culture is best until the 
time comes for cultivation to cease, when a 
winged-plough may be run through the rows 
throwing up the soil around the plants. Blight 
and insects can be controlled by spraying with 
Bordeaux mixture at least five times; and start- 
ing when the plants are five or six inches high, 
add Paris green for insects. Bordeaux mixture 
is made by dissolving four pounds copper sul- 
phate in hot water or by suspending it in a sack 
in a tub of cold water for two or three hours. 
Slake four pounds of caustic lime in another 
vessel, adding water slowly that it may be thor- 
oughly slaked, then add enough water to make 
five to ten gallons. When both are cool, pour 
the lime into the copper solution, straining it 
through a fine meshed sieve or burlap strainer, 
and thoroughly mix. Before using, add 
enough to make fifty gallons of the mixture and 
104 



CROPS AND FERTILIZERS 

strain again when poured Into the spray pump. 
While copper solution will retain its strength 
Indefinitely, still the lime mixture Is never as 
good as within an hour or two of the time it is 
made. For Insecis add one pound of Paris 
green to a hundred gallons of Bordeaux mix- 
ture. The harvesting of a potato crop is done 
by a machine which digs, sorts, and throws the 
potatoes to one side. 

Oats and peas are used to supply green food 
to cows, and are planted at the rate of one and 
one-half bushels of Canadian field peas to one 
and one-half bushels oats. Spread on the fer- 
tlHzer, plough, harrow with a spring tooth or 
disk harrow, broadcast the peas, then harrow 
again with a spiked-tooth harrow. In three or 
four days broadcast the oats and harrow them 
In. 

The root crop will come next on the planting 
list. Carrots and mangel-wurzels will in all 
probability be the only roots planted in the field. 
The former are excellent for horses, while man- 
gel-wurzels will prove Invaluable for winter 
feeding in the dairy where there Is no silo. 
105 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

Both carrots and mangels thrive in a deep, mel- 
low loam, and the field where they are to be 
planted should be ploughed deeply, thoroughly 
harrowed and cross-harrowed first with the disk 
and then with the smoothing harrow. Heavy 
applications of farmyard manure are advisable, 
otherwise it is well to use the full amount of 
commercial fertilizer, as stated above. 

A hand seed-drill will do the planting quickly 
and accurately, and four to six pounds of seed 
will be required. The seeds are planted in rows 
thirty inches apart; when the seedlings are well 
started with two leaves, run a wheel hoe across 
the rows, leaving four or five plants every twelve 
inches apart, which will save a great deal of 
hand-thinning. In about ten days thin to one 
plant to every twelve inches and keep the ground 
free from weeds by constant cultivation. The 
same directions apply to carrots, except that the 
rows are usually eighteen inches apart, and all 
the work is done with hand cultivators and hoes. 
The seedlings should be thinned to three or four 
inches apart in the rows. 

Corn is a semi-tropical plant, and should not 
io6 




POTATOES WHICH RECEIVED LIBERAL APPLICATIONS YEARLY 
OF MATERIALS FURNISHING NITROGEN AND PHOSPHORIC 
ACID AND POTASH 

(Massachusetts Agricultural Experiment Station) 



CROPS AND FERTILIZERS 

be planted until settled warm weather. Farm- 
yard manure makes the best fertilizer and should 
be spread in a ratio of about ten tons to the acre, 
in addition to commercial fertilizer, drilled in 
with the seed. If the corn is to be planted on 
sod land, plough in fall and leave In ridges un- 
til spring, then disk and harrow both ways. 

If the land is level and the crop Is planted 
for grain, the planting may be done with a two- 
row planter using the checking attachment, 
which drops the seed so regularly that It may 
be cultivated both ways. If the land Is hilly or 
rough, or the crop Is to be used for silage, then 
the checker should not be used; the same ma- 
chine will, however, plant In drills, dropping 
the fertilizer at the same time. The secret of 
a large corn harvest Is good seed and constant 
cultivation, with the two-row cultivator, until 
the stalks have grown too high for the machine 
to straddle the rows ; then the small horse culti- 
vator should be used. The field should be gone 
over every week or ten days and after every 
rain until the stalks have grown large enough 
to meet across the rows, which should be three 
107 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

feet apart each way If the corn has been 
checked. If drilled in, the seed should be 
dropped about eighteen inches apart in the rows. 
At the last cultivation, between July 20 and 
Aug. 5, the field may be gone over with a spike- 
tooth cultivator and the grass and clover seed 
for next season's crop may be sown In the corn 
Intended for the sUo. This method has been 
tried very successfully by Professor Brooks of 
the Massachusetts State Agricultural College. 
Writing of It he says: 

" The quantity of the seed used should be rather 
larger than may be required when it is sown alone, 
as a part of It fails to reach the ground, being caught 
and retained by the broad leaves of the corn. Dog- 
day weather should be selected for sowing the seed, 
and If It can be scattered upon the freshly cultivated 
surface just before one of the heavy showers which 
occur so frequently during these days, the seed will need 
no covering and will often have germinated within 
forty-eight hours from the time of sowing. The 
shade of the corn crop is favorable to the retention of 
moisture, and on all except the driest soils there will be 
moisture enough to keep the young plants going. The 
corn protects from the sun, but does not crowd. It is 
not likely to lodge and stifle the young grass, as a crop 

108 



CROPS AND FERTILIZERS 

of small grain so often does. . . . It is best that 
the corn be cut low; and the field should be rolled the 
following spring as soon as it becomes sufficiently firm 
not to be cut up by the horses. In event of the seed- 
ing being done in the above manner a top dressing in 
the spring of 150 pounds of nitrate of soda per acre 
should be used, applied after the grass has started to 
grow." 

In closing, It may be well to remind those 
who are Interested In the subject of fertilizers 
that clover planted In the late summer and 
ploughed under In the spring will to a large 
extent supply all the nitrogen necessary for the 
succeeding crops, and also save the purchase of 
high-priced nitrates. Also, that there are very 
few acres of tillable land In the East that are 
not In need of an application of lime every five 
or ten years, applied at the rate of from a ton 
to a ton and a half per acre In the fall or very 
early spring. Lime does many things besides 
correcting acidity In the soil. It promotes de- 
composition of humus, sod, stubble, etc.; It is 
an essential element In the majority of our crops ; 
it renders the potash of the soil more available; 
It prevents the soluble phosphoric add applied 
109 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

In the fertilizers from satisfying its hunger for 
a base by combining with Iron or alum, which is 
undesirable because phosphates of iron and 
alumina are very soluble; and In addition to 
these things Its mechanical effects on the soil are 
numerous and beneficial. 

The cheapest way to start a wood lot, espe- 
cially of either white pine or chestnut. Is from 
seed. M. Knechtel, Forester of the New York 
State Forest, Fish, and Game Commission, of- 
fers some valuable suggestions which farmers 
should be able to turn to good account. 

Chestnuts for seed should be gathered in the 
fall as soon as they drop from the trees. Spread 
them out In a thin layer on the floor where the 
sun will be on them the greater part of the day. 
Leave them there for a week or ten days, then 
pack them In a barrel or box in moist sand, 
three bushels of sand to one bushel of nuts. 
Keep them until spring In a cool dry place; then 
as soon as the ground thaws out, plant them 
where they are to remain. Take a grub hoe 
and hack up the soil in spots about five feet 
apart each way. Put two nuts in each spot an 
no 



CROPS AND FERTILIZERS 

Inch and a half deep, with their smaller ends 
upward. 

It is a good plan to start a small nursery at 
the same time, to provide trees to take the 
places of those destroyed by mice and squirrels, 
or which fail to grow. A nursery is made and 
cared for In about the same manner as a vege- 
table garden. The seeds are put In drills a 
foot apart, four Inches apart in the row and one 
inch deep. The seedlings that remain in the 
nursery more than a year should be transplanted. 
In the spring of the second year, into rows two 
feet apart and one foot apart in the row. It is 
most Important to keep the roots from drying 
while transplanting, also to cut the strong tap 
roots. Oak, walnut, and hickory are all started 
in a nursery In the same manner. 

To raise white pine from seed, go to the 
woods early In September and gather a basket 
of pine cones from the trees. Take these to a 
dry room and spread them out on the floor. 
In a few days the scales will open ; then shake 
out the seeds or pound out with a flail, rub 
them through a sieve and put them through a 
III 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

fanning mill to clean them. Store like chest- 
nuts until spring. 

Start your seeds in a nursery. Make a bed 
of sandy loam, four by twelve feet. Put on 
two inches of black muck or other rich soil and 
two pailfuls of fresh wood ashes and work this 
thoroughly into the soil. Make a box around 
the bed of boards eight inches wide, set on edge; 
five inches should project above the bed, and 
in this projecting part bore some holes for the 
air to pass through. Rake the top of the bed 
until the soil is very fine, and then put it through 
a sieve. If the weather is dry, water the bed 
thoroughly; sow the seed so that the grains will 
lie about a quarter-inch apart. Then firm the 
surface with a board or back of the spade and 
cover with sufficient sand to put the seed out 
of sight. 

The next step is to stretch some wire cloth 
with a half-inch mesh over a frame that will 
just fit the box. Put this over the bed to keep 
out the birds. Also provide yourself with a 
lath screen made to fit the box, with the laths 
the width of a lath apart. Put this on the bed 

112 



'jsiiti/i^^^e^^ 



^m^B 





POTATOES WH«ICn RECEIVED LIBERAL APPLICATIONS YEARLY 
OF MATERIALS FURNISHING NITROGEN AND PHOSPHORIC 
ACID, BUT NO POTASH 

(Massachusetts Agricultural Experiment Station) 



CROPS AND FERTILIZERS 

to provide shade. Lay extra lath Into the 
spaces in the screen so as to make the bed dark. 
In about three weeks the seed will germinate; 
and as soon as the seedlings show above the 
ground, remove the extra lath. Of course, on 
cloudy days the lath screen Is not needed. When 
snow comes, turn the wire screen upside-down 
and fill it with leaves to keep the plants from 
heaving. Lay the lath screens on them to hold 
the leaves down. Don't forget to keep the 
nursery free from weeds. 

After two years in the seed bed the seedlings 
should be transplanted Into another nursery bed 
prepared like the seed bed. Do this in the 
spring, and be sure that the roots do not be- 
come dry during the operation. Now, get a 
board four feet long and four Inches wide. 
Cut nicks along one edge at every four inches. 
Stretch a string along one side of the transplant 
bed, and lay the board across one end of the 
bed, with the nicks toward the centre, and one 
end of it touching the string. Get upon the 
board and tramp on It from one end to the other 
to firm the soil beneath It. Now take a trowel 
113 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

and dig away the soil along the edge that has 
the nicks, making a trench deep enough to set 
the plants a trifle lower than they stood in the 
seed bed. Then place a good plant at every 
nick and fill in the trench. Move the board 
over the transplanted row, bring it up close to 
the trees, but be careful not to bark the plants. 
Set another row, and go on with the operation 
till all the trees are transplanted. Put more 
muck and ashes on your vacant seed bed and 
sow It again. Keep out the weeds. 

When the trees are three years old, take 
them up with a spade, puddle the roots, pack 
them into a basket lined with wet moss or bur- 
lap, and take them to the field where the wood 
lot is to be started. The planting field may be 
far from the nursery, and it may be necessary to 
take to the field, at once, more plants than can 
be set in a few hours. In such case, when the 
trees arrive at the field, take them from the 
baskets, dip the roots in water, and " heel them 
in "; that is, dig a trench, set the trees along It 
In a thin row, tops up, fill In the trench, covering 
114 



CROPS AND FERTILIZERS 

the roots and about half the steps, and tramp 
down the soil. 

Plant from a pail containing soft mud. Set 
the trees five feet apart each way. Make the 
holes with a grub hoe. Dig deep enough to 
allow the trees to stand a trifle lower than in 
the transplant bed, and wide enough to allow 
plenty of room for the roots. In setting the 
plants, put the loose loam next to the roots. If 
you have a sod, place it around the tree with the 
grassy side down for a mulch. Now tramp the 
soil thoroughly around the tree. For two or 
three years replace dead trees with live ones 
from the nursery. 



IIS 



CHAPTER VIII 

DIRECTIONS AS TO TOOLS 

A Long List That Looks Very Formidable 
IN Size and Price, but is Thorough- 
ly Practical and Useful — Exactly 
What These Tools are Used for, and 
How They should be Cared for. 

WHEN a man from town becomes the 
lord of a manor, the first step he takes, 
as a rule, is to fill his tool house with every con- 
ceivable kind of farm machinery regardless of 
expense and of the use to which it Is to be put; 
or else he goes to the other extreme and fails to 
provide even sufficient machinery to carry on the 
work in hand. 

In this day of high-priced labor the aim of 
every manufacturer is to do as much work as 
possible by machinery; and as farming is, In 
1x6 



DIRECTIONS AS TO TOOLS 

a broad sense, also a manufacturing business, 
the owner of a country estate should adopt sim- 
ilar methods. It should be borne In mind, how- 
ever, that farm tools cost money, and Indis- 
criminate buying will soon swell the Investment 
account to such an extent that It precludes the 
possibility of making satisfactory returns. For 
example, a portable gasolene engine (three 
horsepower) costs one hundred and seventy-five 
dollars. Against this machine must be charged 
annually, as interest on the Investment, ten dol- 
lars and fifty cents, also ten per cent for wear 
and tear and at least five dollars for repairs. 
So we have twenty-eight dollars as a fixed an- 
nual charge. Should, then, such an engine be 
run only four days during the year, saving the 
labor of six men at one dollar per day for that 
length of time. Its fixed charge would more than 
eat up the amount saved by Its use. 

Every farm department should have a full 
complement of tools, but they should be practical 
and essential to the working of the land. The 
following list will be found necessary for any 
farm of thirty or more acres: 
117 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

Reversible sulky plough, with wheel and jointer . $50.00 

Disk harrow, fourteen 16-inch disks . . . . 28.00 

Acme harrow 18.00 

Riding cultivator, two-row 70.00 

Manure spreader 118.00 

Grain drill 80.00 

Roller, two-horse, 7 ft 30.00 

Corn planter, two-row 48.00 

Field mower, one-horse, 4-ft. cutter bar . . . 44.00 

Weeder 12.00 

Hay tedder 40.00 

Hay rake, 22 teeth 26.00 

Fodder shredder, 4 knives 40.00 

Silage cutter and blower 85.00 

Wagon, 2-horse 74.00 

Light spring wagon, i -horse 50.00 

Power saw, with table 40.00 

Portable gasolene engine, 3 horsepower . . . 175.00 

Potato planter 83.00 

Potato digger 115.00 

Field sprayer, 4-row 65.00 

Orchard spray pump 50.00 

Reaper and binder 125.00 

Corn harvester 125.00 

Hand hill and drill seeder, with all attachments . 14.00 

Wheelbarrow 5.00 

One set farm harness . 35- 00 

Corn sheller 11.00 

Farm grist mill 25.00 

Axes (2) 2.00 

Grindstone 6.00 

Manure forks (4) 4.00 

Hay forks (2) 2.00 

Hoes (3) 1.50 

Wagon jack 1.50 

One ladder, 30 feet 8.75 

Two fruit-picking stepladders, 10 ft 6.00 

Mattock 1.35 

Pickaxes (2) 2.00 

Hay rakes (2) .70 

Scythe handles (2) 2.00 

Scythe blades (4) 3.60 

Scythe stones (4) .40 

Pruning saw .70 

118 



DIRECTIONS AS TO TOOLS 

(Carried forward from p. ii8.) 

Pruning shears $3.00 

Bushel baskets (4) 5.60 

Shovels (3) 3-0O 

Anvil and vise 8.00 

Barn pails, blankets, brushes, whips, etc. ... 20.00 

Saws, hammer, wire nails, brace, box of bits . . 12.00 

Total $1775-10 



This list looks rather formidable, but it cov- 
ers everything. There are one or two Imple- 
ments that might perhaps be dispensed with If 
but little grain were to be raised, namely, the 
grain drill and the reaper and binder. 

It will be noted that all the tools, except the 
one-row cultivator, are riding tools, which not 
only save labor but temper — for there Is no 
more trying work on a farm than walking after 
a plough all day. If beets are to be sown In 
large quantities it will pay to invest In a four- 
row planter. 

The plough is known to every one, but unfor- 
tunately its proper use Is not so familiar. There 
are two essential points necessary to good 
ploughing — an even draft and a level plough. 
A broad curving mouldboard which rolls the 
soil over like small waves does the best work in 
119 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

a medium loam. " The plough should always be 
kept clean and bright. 

The disk harrow cuts the old sod up without 
bringing it to the surface, and when followed 
by the " acme '' or spike-tooth harrow, leaves 
the soil fine and mellow. The cultivator keeps 
the ground free from weeds, and should be In 
constant use during the growing season. The 
two-row cultivator may be used on the aspara- 
gus bed as well as for corn and beets. 

The manure spreader is one of the best of 
our modern tools, for in addition to being a 
labor-saver it assures an even distribution of 
manure, which is most important. 

The grain drill plants the grain, distributes 
fertilizer and grass seed, and covers, all in one 
operation. It is invaluable where rye and large 
quantities of oats are raised. 

The roller follows the grain drill and assures 
a smooth ground surface. If the weather is 
dry at seeding time, the use of the roller to firm 
the soil will often prove a great help, assuring 
a good stand of grain, which otherwise would 
suffer severely from lack of moisture. Care 



120 




IX MEASURING THE FLOW OF LARGE STREAMS A WEIR GAGE BOARD 

IS used" 




AN EASY WAY OF MEASURING THE FLOW OF WATER IS TO DAM UP 

THE stream" 



DIRECTIONS AS TO TOOLS 

should be taken not to use a roller where the 
soil is well supplied with moisture, lest the 
ground become hard and baked. 

The corn planter is simple to operate by one 
who is willing to use care and common-sense In 
handling it; but no machine which accomplishes 
several things at once can be handled properly 
unless the operator has some knowledge of me- 
chanics. 

A one-horse mower has been chosen for the 
list, as on a farm of thirty or forty acres where 
only two work horses are used, haying can be 
done more expeditiously where one horse does 
the mowing, while the other does the tedding 
and raking. Of course, if more horses are 
used, a two-horse mower with a seven-foot cut- 
ter bar would be in order if the land is level and 
free from stones. 

The weeder is always used within a few days 
of the planting of seeds. Its mission is to pre- 
vent httle weeds from starting; and this it does 
by stirring the soil gently, just enough to kill 
the weeds, but not deep enough to Injure the 
crop. 

121 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

The hay tedder and rake need no introduc- 
tion, as they are old and tried friends. 

The fodder shredder will prove most useful 
where corn is grown for grain and also for those 
not using silage. In fact, it works well where 
corn is grown for both purposes ; for thin shred- 
ded cornstalks may be fed to horses or may be 
used as bedding, and excellent bedding it makes. 
The machine is run by power, and very great 
care should be taken when working around it 
when It Is in use, as with the keen blades revolv- 
ing at a high speed a finger may be as easily 
clipped off as a cornstalk. 

The silage cutter cuts green corn into short 
lengths for silage ; it is much like the shredder, 
as both have blowers or conveyors attached, 
which blow or convey the stalks to the mow or 
silo. 

Gasolene engines have become very reliable 
and are simple to run. If they are to be used 
in a barn or building near the house, the gaso- 
lene should always be kept in a galvanized iron 
vessel outside and aw^ay from the buildings on 
account of fire, and should be piped in to the 

122 



DIRECTIONS AS TO TOOLS 

engine. In this way they are safe and ready for 
use at a moment's notice. 

The power saw would be needed only on an 
estate where there was much timber to be cut for 
firewood. 

The potato planter and the potato digger 
are expensive tools; unless at least two acres of 
tubers are raised, It will not pay to buy the 
former; and a cheaper digger would answer 
the purpose for a hundred or two hundred 
bushels. A man and a boy can easily drop the 
fertilizers and seed potatoes, and cover an acre 
In a day. The planter requires a man and a 
boy to operate it, one driving and the other 
watching the feeder. The digger requires four 
horses on heavy soil, and three on medium loam. 
On all large machines where the vibration is se- 
vere, care should be taken to keep the nuts 
tightened ; for the loss of a nut when a machine 
is in use will cause great inconvenience and end- 
less loss of time. 

The field spray can be made to do double 
duty. It will spray four rows of potatoes or 
strawberries, or it can be altered for use in the 
123 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

orchard. In fact, for small orchards it will 
answer the purpose very well. The proper 
manipulation of a power sprayer requires the 
user to familiarize himself thoroughly with the 
directions sent out by the manufacturers with 
each sprayer; and when the spraying season is 
over, the machine should be taken apart, and 
every part washed in kerosene and then wiped 
with a piece of waste soaked in crude oil, and 
put away for the winter. 

One of the most complex bits of machinery 
on the list is the reaper and binder. But when 
we stop to consider the rapidity with which it 
works — cuts the grain, gathers it into a com- 
pact bundle and ties it with twine into a 
sheaf about every ninety seconds, it seems as 
simple a machine as human skill and ingenuity 
could devise. No one, however, should be al- 
lowed to run one of these machines until he is 
familiar with every part and with its relation 
to every other part. As an example of the loss 
of time resulting from ignorant use of a binder, 
a farmer friend of the writer's became sud- 
124 




Courtesy of International Harvester Co. of America 
PUMPING JACK BELTED TO 3-HORSEPOWER GASOLENE ENGINE 



DIRECTIONS AS TO TOOLS 

denly ill during harvesting time, and was 
obliged to put another man in his place. The 
latter assured him he was perfectly conversant 
with the running of a reaper and binder, and 
started to mow a ten-acre crop. After an 
hour's work he was seen to stop and fuss over 
the machine as though trying to discover the 
cause of some trouble. He continued to search 
for a time and finally returned to the barn to 
report a mishap. The owner, on examining 
the machine, saw at once that the dog-spring 
(which pulls the dog into gear) had become 
loose and so prevented the machine from work- 
ing. By the time everything was in running 
order several hours of valuable time had been 
wasted. 

The corn harvester cuts and binds corn into 
small bundles and throws it to one side. No 
one can afford to dispense with this implement; 
the writer has found it most useful even where 
only a few acres of corn are grown. 

The hand hill and drill seeder, with its many 
attachments, is intended for the garden, but 
125 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

where a small area of beets, carrots, beans, etc., 
is raised, all planting may be done with this lit- 
tle tool. 

The smaller hand tools are familiar to all 
country dwellers who have gardens, and need 
no explanation. 

The grist mill run by power will prove useful 
for grinding oats, corn, buckwheat, etc. It is 
easy to operate and simply constructed. In the 
autumn all these Implements should be carefully 
gone over, put In order for next year, all broken 
parts and lost nuts replaced, etc., and thoroughly 
cleaned and oiled before being stored for the 
winter. 



126 



CHAPTER IX 

WAYS IN WHICH FARM PRODUCTS 
MAY BE MARKETED 

The Absolutely Paying Cleanness and 
Attractiveness That should Surround 
His Wares — The Proper Packing of 
Fruit and Vegetables — Hints on 
Soil Treatment — Reputation as Nec- 
essary in Farming as in Any Other Pur- 
suit — Where the Markets Are, and 
Some Niceties of Shipment — All Crops, 
AND How They may be Sold. 

FARMERS In the United States lose thou- 
sands of dollars annually in marketing 
their crops, and the loss is due to the careless 
shipment of inferior goods, to poor packing, 
and lastly to ignorance as to the market values 
of the day. The writer has seen many instances 
of this kind, and recalls in particular the ex- 
127 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

perlences of a neighboring farmer who raised 
strawberries which were large and of an es- 
pecially fine flavor, but who persisted in refus- 
ing to keep his beds well mulched, and to buy 
new crates each season. The result of course 
was that his fruit was sandy, his boxes discol- 
ored, and consequently his fruit was graded as 
second-class instead of first. Another farmer 
could never resist the temptation to put a few 
specked apples in his barrels. The commission 
house to which he shipped the fruit, having 
cautioned him several times to no purpose, 
ended by giving him only two dollars and fifty 
cents a barrel when properly picked and packed 
apples were fetching four dollars a barrel. 

Establish a reputation, and you can demand 
your own price. In New York, on Fifth Ave- 
nue, perfect Oregon apples sell for twenty cents 
each (or about fifteen dollars a bushel) In win- 
ter, whereas the average farmer has to content 
himself with three dollars a barrel (2^ bush- 
els). The former are large, juicy, and perfect 
in shape; the latter, though of good flavor, are 
small and specked. 

128 



MARKETING FARM PRODUCTS 

The first step, then, toward marketing fine 
crops is to raise them with care, and this can 
only be accomplished by the use of plenty of 
fertilizer, by selecting the best seed, and by con- 
stant cultivation until harvest time. 

The potato crop requires very careful man- 
agement if a fair profit is to be made. The 
early crop which is ready to market In June 
fetches the best price, especially if the grower 
has been sufficiently on the alert to have it ready 
for market before the other fellow. It is sold 
either In barrels or sacks; and if one has a large 
area, some arrangement can be made with a 
club or a hotel to take the entire crop, and the 
shipper to send five, six, or seven barrels a week, 
as the purchaser may desire. The potato 
ground Is then planted to sweet corn, buckwheat, 
millet, or any rapidly maturing crop. 

Winter potatoes are often grown at a loss, 
and a crop of at least two hundred bushels must 
be raised to net even the smallest profit. It 
Is, however, just as easy to raise four hundred 
bushels as two hundred. It Is merely a matter 
of cultivation and care. Holding potatoes In 
129 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

storage until midwinter or early spring involves 
considerable risk and some expense, and there 
is no certainty that the price will advance. 
When the extra labor of sorting and carting to 
the place of storage is taken into account, it is 
In the long run usually wiser to take a little 
less In the field when they are harvested. 

Grain is comparatively easy to handle after 
it has been thrashed and cleaned. In New Eng- 
land, corn, rye, oats, and buckwheat will cover 
the list of cereals raised. 

Hay-raising for market is a business in Itself, 
and few owners of country estates have the 
spare land to devote to It. That It can be made 
to pay a handsome profit Is unquestioned. Mr. 
Clark of HIgganum, Conn., who has a wide 
reputation as a raiser of tremendous crops of 
grass, counts on cutting about five tons to the 
acre; and as hay sells at twenty dollars a ton, 
baled, his profit is excellent. 

Fruit of all kinds Is In ever-Increasing demand, 

and fine fruits command fancy prices. The 

most successful fruit-growers pack their apples 

in boxes holding a bushel each. These are easy 

130 




Courtesy of Messis. Loid A: Uumlaam Co. 

TOMATOES, STRAWBERRIES, AND CUCUMBERS IN 
MID-WINTER 



MARKETING FARM PRODUCTS 

to handle, and apples keep better in small quan- 
tities. The best apples are wrapped in tissue 
paper with the name of the shipper printed on 
it. In building up a market in fancy fruits, 
hotels, clubs, and restaurants pay the best prices 
and will take shipments regularly. Private cus- 
tomers pay well but not always promptly. 

The secret of success in raising perfect fruit 
is to keep the trees vigorous and healthy by 
fertilizing, cultivating, and spraying. The or- 
chard should be kept well cultivated from spring 
until the middle of July, when clover is sown 
for a cover crop at the rate of six to twelve 
pounds of red, or eight to sixteen pounds of 
crimson per acre. To provide vegetable matter 
and to improve the physical quality of the soil, 
barnyard manure should be applied once In four 
years, in the fall, at the rate of from five to ten 
tons per acre. To aid in the decomposition of 
vegetable matter, and to insure a sufficiency of 
lime as plant food, lime should be applied at 
the rate of twenty-five bushels per acre once in 
five years. To provide in addition an abun- 
dance of all forms of available plant food at 
131 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

the time needed for development of tree and 
fruit, chemical fertilizer should be used annually 
in the following proportion : 

Nitrate of soda loo pounds 

South Carolina rock superphosphate . loo pounds 

Ground bone 200 pounds 

Muriate of potash 200 pounds 

Per acre 600 pounds 

The trees should be sprayed several times 
a year to prevent the ravages of insect pests and 
fungus diseases. The different formulas for 
spraying solutions may be had from the dealers 
in spraying machines or from the State experi- 
ment stations on request. The work should 
be done very thoroughly, for on it depends the 
financial success of the orchard. Do not give 
ear to any one who says it is unnecessary to 
spray and till an orchard, for there Is no other 
possible way of obtaining fine fruit. 

Fruit such as apples, pears, peaches, plums, 
and quinces should be picked by hand, never- 
shaken off or dropped Into a basket or barrel. 
The stems should be left on when picked and 
fruit placed gently In the shipping box or barrel, 
132 



MARKETING FARM PRODUCTS 

then firmly packed to prevent movement in 
transit, and care should be taken not to bruise 
the fruit in covering the package. Pickers 
should be careful never to press their fingers 
against peaches, plums, or tender fruit, as it 
discolors them and mars their beauty. Fruit, 
if picked early in the morning, may be packed at 
once, but otherwise should be left in the shade 
until the following day. 

A packing house will be found convenient 
where a large quantity of fruit is grown for 
fancy trade; or packing tables may be carried 
to the orchard. For small fruits a packing 
shed is indispensable. 

Strawberries are a very profitable crop when 
properly handled. J. W. Adams writes that 
he has picked at the rate of 10,600 quarts to 
the acre of Crescents. Allowing a net profit 
of five cents per quart, we have a total profit of 
five hundred and thirty dollars per acre. This 
is certainly worth the labor. The soil for such 
a crop should be made mellow and rich by the 
use of manure, fertilizer, and much cultivating. 
J. A. Hale, the veteran fruit-grower of Con- 

133 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

necticut, gives the following advice on the prep- 
aration of a strawberry bed: "A well-rotted 
clover sod that has been deeply ploughed or 
spaded, with the addition of subsoiling (a sub- 
soil plough is made to break up the subsoil, and 
follows in the wake of the ordinary plough) 
if it has a stiff bottom. After ploughing, a 
heavy top dressing of well-rotted stable manure, 
supplemented with some form of muriate or 
sulphate, or say 3000 pounds of fine-ground 
raw bone, 500 pounds of muriate of potash, 
and 200 pounds each of tankage and nitrate of 
soda per acre, all evenly broadcast, followed 
by a thorough pulverization of the soil by har- 
rowing and reharrowing about four times as 
much as the average ploughman will think he 
ought to.'* The plants may be set two feet 
apart in rows which are four feet apart. In 
the late winter the beds are mulched with straw 
which is left around the plants until after the 
fruiting season, when it is removed. Keep the 
cultivator going in order to allow no weeds to 
start. After the fruiting season encourage five 
or six vigorous runners to start from each plant 
134 










t 




4 


:« 







!.?%:'' 



" r.^^ 



{J, * ^^. 



,5ifC 



MARKETING FARM PRODUCTS 

and when they are ready to take root spot them 
(either with a small notched peg or a stone so 
that the wind cannot move them) eight inches 
apart each way. Keep the rows free from 
weeds and the soil loose and mellow. By the 
middle of July or the first of August the runners 
may be cut off from the parent plant and trans- 
planted to a new bed where they will fruit the 
next year if cared for. In lifting out young 
plants be sure to take plenty of earth with them 
so as not to disturb the roots. 

It is customary to hire a gang of pickers to 
harvest small fruits and they should be in- 
structed to pick strawberries with the stems on 
and to fill the boxes full to prevent jolting. 
The bed should be picked over every day during 
the fruiting season, and the early morning is the 
best time to do the work. A word or two from 
successful marketmen on this very important 
topic may not come amiss. R. D. McGeehan, 
of Iowa, says: 

''In wet weather pick every day; in fair, 
every other day. Keep three grades, each by 
itself. First hunt up persons willing to pay a 

^35 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

fancy price for a fancy article — and they are 
to be found, lots of them. Sell the seconds to 
grocers or fruit stands, and the third sell at 
home for what you can get, or use yourself, or 
feed to the hogs. Take to a cool airy cellar 
as soon as picked and always ship In the even- 
ing, If possible, as the fruit will travel during 
the night." 

W. C. Wilson, of Illinois, says : 

" Be as honest as you can. Do not allow 
pickers to put any trashy, rotten, or green berries 
in the box. To avoid this I find It Is absolutely 
necessary to have a superintendent In the patch 
and directly among the pickers. Use clean new 
boxes." 

Raspberries, blackberries, currants, and 
gooseberries need the same care, and one who 
is going in for fruit raising will do well to buy 
one or two reliable books on the subject before 
starting In. Vegetables of all kinds should be 
washed and packed in wicker hampers for ship- 
ment. A friend of the writer is having great 
success in shipping daily hampers to customers 
in New York. These hampers contain a one- 

136 



MARKETING FARM PRODUCTS 

day's supply of vegetables of all kinds, fruits, 
and broilers. The consignee pays for transpor- 
tation, and the shipment is made in the late 
afternoon. The owner — a woman, by the 
way — attends to all the packing; and a basket 
ready to send would bring delight to any 
epicure. 

Insect pests must be fought at every step. 
In your vegetable garden look out for the as- 
paragus beetles; they appear in April and May, 
and are red, with black stripes. Spray w4th 
Paris green — 25 lb. Paris green to 50 gallons 
water, to which add 4 lb. quick lime for each 
pound of Paris green. Keep the asparagus cut, 
and spray after the cutting season. 

Peas are subject to attacks from aphis, mil- 
dew, and pea weevil. If necessary, spray with 
Bordeaux mixture. This may be bought, or 
made thus: Copper sulphate (blue vitriol), 
5 lb. ; quick lime (best stone lime) , 5 lb. ; water, 
50 gal. Dissolve the copper sulphate by sus- 
pending in a bag and immersing near the sur- 
face of about 6 gallons of water. Slake the 
lime, using only enough water to keep it cov- 

137 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

ered, and before mixing the materials, dilute 
each to 20 gallons; a finer-grained combination 
results than when lime and copper sulphate meet 
without dilution. If receptacles are not at hand 
for holding both the materials in dilution, the 
lime should be diluted to full amount in the tank, 
and the copper sulphate poured into this, as this 
makes a better mixture than If the operation be 
reversed. This method of mixing is one given 
by the New York State Department of Agri- 
culture, and can be depended on. 

It is further advised, however, that when the 
ingredients are thoroughly mixed, one should 
take a cupful and into It pour a few drops of a 
ten per cent solution of yellow prussiate of pot- 
ash; if the effect Is a reddish or brown coloring, 
more lime should be added. 

Potatoes are the prey of the Colorado beetle 
and the flea beetle. For the former, add a little 
Paris green to the Bordeaux mixture when 
spraying for blight. For the flea beetle use the 
same mixture, but more frequently — every two 
or three weeks. 

The cutworms get In their work on the to- 

138 



MARKETING FARM PRODUCTS 

mato plants In May and June. The best rem- 
edy Is that tried by the Oklahoma Experiment 
Station, consisting of mixing while dry i lb. of 
Paris green and 50 lb. of wheat bran; make 
moist, but not sloppy, by adding water In which 
a quart of cheap molasses has been dissolved. 
Place this mixture In spoonful piles where the 
worms are working. 

In the fruit garden the currants and goose- 
berries will be subject to attack from the green 
currant worm, also plant lice and leaf blight In 
May and June. For the former use Paris 
green when the leaves are about half grown. 
If they appear when the fruit Is half grown, 
use Insect powder at the rate of a tablespoonful 
to a gallon of water In a spray. For plant lice 
use whale-oil soap, one-quarter pound to a gal- 
lon of water. Spray the leaves thoroughly, 
both upper and lower sides. 

For leaf blight, spots on leaves, use a solu- 
tion of ammoniacal copper carbonate, thus: 
Copper carbonate, 5 oz. ; ammonia (26 deg. 
Beaume), 3 pts. ; water, 45 gal. Make a paste 
of the copper carbonate with water. Dilute 

139 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

the ammonia with 7 volumes of water. Add the 
paste to the diluted ammonia, and stir until 
dissolved. Dilute to 45 gallons. Allow to 
settle, and use only the clear blue liquid. This 
mixture loses strength while standing. 

Grapes are subject to attack from rose bugs 
in May. Spray with arsenate of lead. This 
mixture is made by dissolving six oz. of lead 
acetate (sugar of lead) In two quarts of warm 
water In a wooden pail, while two oz. of arsenate 
of soda (50 per cent pure) is dissolved In one 
quart of water in another wooden pail. Pour 
these into fifty gallons of water, and use. 

In the strawberry patch, May sometimes 
brings the grub of the sawfly — a small green 
worm which eats holes In the leaves. Spray 
with arsenate of lead. 

When we come to our orchards there is al- 
ways something to be done In the way of spray- 
ing, trimming, and cultivating. San Jose scale 
is always with us; then there Is the bud worm, 
for which we can use Paris green In Bordeaux 
mixture as the buds swell. The canker worm 
is best prevented by banding the trees with 
140 



MARKETING FARM PRODUCTS 

fly paper or some sticky material. Also spray 
with arsenate of lead. The leaf aphis yields to 
whale-oil soap. 

The tent caterpillar arrives and weaves large 
nests in the best apple tree, and proceeds to eat 
all the leaves it can. Spray with arsenate of 
lead ; also burn all the nests. Look out for rust, 
yellow spots on leaves and fruit ; spray with Bor- 
deaux mixture. 

Scab soon ruins the appearance of your fruit. 
For this, Bordeaux mixture should be used be- 
fore blossoming, when the leaf buds are open, but 
before the flower buds expand. Repeat as soon 
as blossoms have fallen off, and through the 
season about every two or three weeks If there 
are any signs of scab. Cherry trees suffer from 
aphis slug, curcullo, black knot, brown rot, and 
leaf blight. Plums have the same enemies. 
Slugs appear in the latter part of May or the 
first of June. Arsenate of lead makes short 
work of them. Curculios make little moon- 
shaped scars on the fruit, and are very destruc- 
tive. Use arsenate of lead before the blossom- 
ing, and twice after, at intervals of a week. 
141 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

Then shake the trees every morning after the 
fruit is set for about five weeks. 

Black knot requires vigorous treatment; cut 
off the affected part several inches below the 
knot. Spray with Bordeaux before blossoming 
and after. Brown rot causes the fruit to turn 
brown, dry up, and hang on the trees. Spray 
early in the spring, before the leaf buds break, 
with copper sulphate solution. (Copper sul- 
phate, one pound; water, 15 to 25 gallons.) 
Dissolve the copper sulphate in water. Never 
apply to foliage. Then before the blossoms 
open use Bordeaux mixture, and repeat when 
fruit has set. This all seems very trouble- 
some, but the result will be fine fruit and long 
prices. 



142 



CHAPTER X 

WINTER WORK WITHIN THE GLASS 
HOUSES 

What These Buildings Cost and How 
They are Best Constructed — Iron, 
Steel, and Thick Glass should be Em- 
ployed, Despite Their Higher First 
Cost — The Problems of Temperature, 
Fertilization, and Watering, and How 
They are to be Met — Coal Costs and 
the Proper Boiler Installation — Fi- 
nally, THE Eternal Warfare to be 
Waged with Insects. 

WITH the modern Improvements In subur- 
ban transportation facilities, country- 
lovers are enabled to enjoy their estates until 
after the Thanksgiving feast, in fact many con- 
tinue to try country life the whole year round 
with the exception of only a few weeks. It is 

143 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

to these that experiments In winter work under 
glass will most surely appeal. 

There Is a fascination In attempting new ex- 
periments, the more so If success means an 
added profit to the farm account. Many sup- 
pose the South has a monopoly of the winter 
vegetable market ; but such Is far from the case, 
for many of our well-to-do people In these pro- 
gressive days prefer home-grown products and 
enjoy the sentiment attached to the forcing of 
a plant to the pink of perfection — In the very 
teeth of blizzards. 

The growing of vegetables and fruits under 
glass for winter markets Is one of the most dif- 
ficult of all horticultural undertakings, but the 
rewards amply compensate the grower for all 
his tribulations. Even if one preferred to limit 
one's output to the needs of one's own table, 
the pleasure and interest he would find In the 
work would more than pay for the running of 
a small house. For, after all, what could be 
more delightful on a cold winter day than to 
step Into a warm, sunny room filled, say, with 
the scent of tomatoes, or melons, or strawber- 
144 




Courtesy of Eider-Ericsson Engine Co. 
DEEP-WELL PUMP WITH FURNACE FOR COAL 



WINTER WORK IN GLASS HOUSES 

ries, and the odor of clean, damp earth. Then 
the manual work, though constant, is not Irk- 
some. Enthusiasm must be the key-note, com- 
bined with a patient willingness to study and 
make use of the successes and failures of others. 
One should begin In a modest way, for glass 
houses are expensive to build, demand constant 
repair, and are costly to run. The largest 
single item of outlay will be coal; and on this 
very vital point some light may be had from 
the experience of those who have been most 
successful. The following experiences were 
gathered by Professor Bailey of Cornell. One 
grower from Massachusetts writes that he uses 
eighteen tons of coal to run a house 20 by 100 
feet, even span, ten feet high at the ridge, and 
that one man will care for two or three houses, 
if he be active and thorough, and keep them 
clean and In first-class order. 

From New York State several of these grow- 
ers send reports. One of them writes: ''I 
am heating 500 lineal feet of rose house twenty 
feet wide and eleven feet high at a cost of three 
hundred and thirty-three dollars, or sixty-five 
145 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

cents a running foot (hot water system in small 
pipes used). For roses a good man should 
manage 400 feet of a house twenty feet wide." 

Another man says: "I should estimate 
twelve tons of coal for a house 20 by 100 feet, 
and a man should handle eight thousand or ten 
thousand square feet of glass in roses." 

Another writes: "I have about 15,000 
square feet of glass in ten houses. I grow 
roses, carnations, violets, plants, etc. Four of 
my own family, including myself, work in the 
houses, and I usually keep one man besides. 
Outside my own family it costs me about two 
thousand dollars a year to run my place — for 
coal, help, repairs, water rent, taxes, bulbs, 
insurance, lumber for boxes, and all other inci- 
dentals." 

From Pennsylvania we have the following: 
*' One good man should give good results in 
two houses, 20 by 100 feet, with hot water, fif- 
teen tons of egg hard coal." 

New Jersey reports: "My rose house, 20 
by 80 feet, consumes about nine or ten tons of 
coal yearly. Two houses, 20 by 100 feet, are 
146 



WINTER WORK IN GLASS HOUSES 

enough for one man in rose-growing, and he 
should have a boy to assist him In busy times." 

So much, then, for running a good-sized 
house. The next question of Interest to the 
beginner Is the cost of construction, and this. 
In a large measure, will depend on the owner's 
pocketbook. 

There are three general types of glass houses 
in use for the forcing of vegetables, strawber- 
ries, and flowers, and these are the even- 
span roof, the lean-to or shed roof, and the un- 
even or broken-span roof. The wider the 
house up to a certain point the easier It is to 
heat, but wide houses require extra strength 
in the rafters and uprights on account of the 
greater weight. Some growers have been very 
successful with single-span houses thirty feet 
wide. 

For a beginner who does not wish to invest 
a large amount of money, a house twenty feet 
wide with an even-span roof will prove the most 
economical to build. But should he be willing 
to invest more at the start a shed-roof structure, 
30 by 100 feet, will be found very satisfactory. 
147 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

The best direction for the house to face will 
depend, in a large measure, upon the crop to 
be raised. The shed-roof house will naturally 
face the south, while for the even-span north 
and south will be the best exposure, as then both 
sides will receive an equal amount of sunlight 
during the day. 

Modern glass houses are constructed almost 
entirely of steel, iron, and cement, tiles, or 
brick. Made in this way they last longer and 
require fewer repairs. Then, of course, the 
steel frame admits more light, and even all the 
benches and their appurtenances are made of 
iron piping with tile for the earth to rest on. 
For commercial purposes the semi-iron house 
will be found serviceable and somewhat less ex- 
pensive than the combined steel and iron one. 
In the latter form iron is used at every point 
where cypress would be weak and subject to 
decay. The cost is a bit more than the all- 
wood, but when one considers the durability of 
all the iron parts, increased life of the wood 
parts, smaller amount of shade, absence of re- 
pairs, and saving in the cost of erection it is 
148 




Courtesy of Messrs. Lord & Burnliam Co. 
THREE-COMPARTMENT HOUSE IN WHICH VEGETABLES AND 
FLOWERS MAY BE GROWN UNDER THE ONE ROOF 




Courtesy of Messrs. Lord & Bumham Co. 

COLD FRAMES SUCH AS MAY PROVE OF USE IN CONNECTION 
WITH GLASS HOUSES 



WINTER WORK IN GLASS HOUSES 

In the long run by far the cheaper and more sat- 
isfactory construction. 

The glass should be " double thick." It will 
save Its extra cost within a year or two In the 
lesser breakage, besides assuring a warmer 
house. The difference In price Is about sixty 
cents more on a box (22 lights) of 14 by 14 
double-thick light. 

No matter how finely constructed a glass 
house may be, If the heating arrangements are 
not satisfactory only failure will result; for 
nothing could be more exasperating, for In- 
stance, than to have the temperature fall during 
the night In a house filled with ripening toma- 
toes, and In a few hours to have lost the work 
of weeks, and then to have to start all over 
again. 

The writer much prefers the hot-water sys- 
tem of heating, although many have had good 
results with steam. The modern hot-water 
boiler comes conveniently In sections, and no 
tools are required to set It up save a monkey- 
wrench and a screw-driver. Moreover, If two 
or more boilers are required they may be placed 
149 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

beside each other and connected in one battery. 
In planning for the size of a boiler it is neces- 
sary to have it large enough, not only to supply 
the required temperature In zero weather, but 
in weather at least lo degrees below zero, es- 
pecially in the New England States. It will 
cost a bit more at the start, but the difference of 
a hundred dollars may mean the difference be- 
tween success and failure. 

Now, as to the cost of building — and that 
will depend In a large measure upon many 
things. The builder, for Instance, may have all 
the work done by contract or may do part of 
it with his own men; or he may prefer an all- 
steel and Iron house to a less expensive wooden 
or semi-iron structure. In fact, so many differ- 
ent conditions may enter into the plans that only 
a general idea as to cost can be given. A shed- 
roof house, 20 by lOO feet, could be built for 
about fifteen hundred dollars If the men on the 
place shared in the work, and this would In- 
clude heating and benches. A small pottlng- 
shed with a boiler cellar would cost three hun- 
dred dollars extra, provided the excavating 
150 



WINTER WORK IN GLASS HOUSES 

were done by home labor. Before leaving the 
subject of construction, the sectional glass house 
should be mentioned. These houses are made 
by the Lord & Burnham Company, and come 
in sections of 8 feet 4 inches each, so that a be- 
ginner could start with, say, five sections and a 
work shed, and as his interest in the work grew 
another section or two could be added. 

The variety of fruit, vegetables, and flowers 
that can be raised in a glass house will depend 
upon how many compartments there are. For 
example, lettuce, radishes, and cauliflower re- 
quire a night temperature of ^^°, while toma- 
toes, cucumbers, melons, and peppers require 
at least 65° ; thus they would have to be raised 
in compartments where the piping was quite 
dijfferent — a matter very easy to arrange, but 
also of great Importance. 

The soil for forcing-houses must needs be 
not only rich in available plant food, but 
mellow and of extra good quality. The Ideal 
soil has a foundation of good garden loam 
mixed with sand and well-rotted manure. In 
short, the soil should be like the best garden 
151 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

soil, filled with humus and easily worked. Of 
course, where crops are grown on benches the 
soil must be changed annually and care should 
be taken to mix in the manure thoroughly; and 
It should be well-rotted manure, too. Forced 
crops need to be fertilized as they grow, for it 
Is Imperative that they should grow steadily and 
quickly if they are to have the tender and de- 
licious taste an exacting market demands. 

Professor Bailey recommends liquid manure 
as one of the best of fertilizers. He says : 

" This Is made from old unleached cow manure. 
A bushel of it is placed in a half-barrel or tub and 
the receptacle is filled with water. After standing 
two or three days, being stirred occasionally in the 
meantime, the liquid is ready for use. This must be 
reduced before it is applied to soil in which plants are 
growing, and the amount of reduction to give it can 
be determined only by experience. Ordinarily one 
quart of liquid made as here directed will be sufficient 
for a gallon of the diluted material; that is, one quart 
of the liquid water is added to three quarts of clear 
water." 

This liquid may be applied once or twice a 
week after the plants have set their fruit. 
152 





EXAMPLES OF THE KIND OF STOCK TO BUY: LARGE YORK- 
SHIRE SOW — CHESTER WHITE BOAR 
(Owned by Hart's Delight Farm, Chazy, N. Y.) 



WINTER WORK IN GLASS HOUSES 

The watering of the crop requires keen judg- 
ment, for too much moisture will cause the 
fungi of damplng-off to breed rapidly and to 
destroy the plant. It must be borne In mind 
that watering lowers the temperature of the 
soil and consequently heat-loving plants receive 
a serious check when watered with cold water. 
The best rule Is to water early In the morning 
and to use water with the chill taken off. It 
Is well to water thoroughly on sunny days and 
not on cloudy days unless the plants are really 
In need of water and suffering for It. It Is for 
this reason tanks are often built In glass houses, 
for not only do they give out a certain amount 
of moisture, but the warm water may be used 
for watering the plants. 

In connection with glass houses cold frames 
will always prove of use. The seeds may be 
started In them In the autumn and eventually 
transplanted to the house, saving bench room 
and thus leaving more room for plants. The 
sash for these frames Is not expensive and may 
be had painted and ready for use for three and 
a half dollars each; six sashes 3 by 6 feet will be 

153 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

plenty, and the frame, if necessary, can be made 
on the place, of pine boards; the back should 
be sixteen inches high and the front eight inches. 
Painted properly they will last for several years. 
The most convenient way would be to make 
three 2-sash frames; and if this is done a sash 
bar must be run through the middle of the 
frame the long way of the sash. 

The art of raising flowers, fruits, vegetables, 
etc., under glass can be acquired only by much 
reading and resulting experiments. It takes 
observation and patience to understand grad- 
ually the necessary care of hothouse products. 
Fortunately there are many books waiting to 
be read by the uninitiated, such, for instance, 
as Taft's on " Greenhouse Management,'' 
which is a capital treatise on the subject; and 
the " Forcing Book," by L. H. Bailey, is one 
that should be in every country gentleman's 
library. 

The novice will do well to bear in mind that 
in forcing plants in winter he is trying to re- 
verse nature's laws, and must, therefore, repro- 
duce as nearly as possible the conditions in his 
154 



WINTER WORK IN GLASS HOUSES 

glass house which govern the growing of crops 
In the field and garden In summer. Plants re- 
quire an abundance of pure air, and one of the 
most difficult things to learn will be just how 
much air Is required, when to open the ventila- 
tors, and how to regulate the supply. Just a 
word as to Insects. It is not too much to say 
that eternal vigilance Is necessary here. These 
small pests appreciate the joys of warm and 
congenial surroundings, and will work as hard 
as the gardener to take their toll ; It Is only con- 
stant watching and care that can keep them 
In check. Tobacco stems, sulphur fumes, and 
a sharp eye are the weapons necessary for the 
conflict. 



155 



CHAPTER XI 

THE CULTIVATION OF HIGH-PRICED 
SPECIALTIES 

The Simple Conditions under Which 
Chickens may be Profitably Raised 
FOR THE Market — The Methods by 
Which They should be Reared, Fed, 
AND Shipped — Squabs and Their Care 
— Various Forms of Foods — Bees and 
Honey — Turkeys Always Exacting to 
THE Breeder — How to Keep Them in 
Health and How to Market Them — 
Mushrooms, While Somewhat Diffi- 
cult Also, Amply Repay the Raiser — 
Game-Preserving and its Possibilities. 

PERHAPS the most Interesting and profita- 
ble use to which a portion of the farm or 
a country place can be put Is the raising of 
specialties for the favored few who can Indulge 

156 



HIGH-PRICED SPECIALTIES 

in such luxuries. There are several crops of 
this kind, for Instance, broilers (In winter), 
roasters, squabs, turkey broilers, and mush- 
rooms. 

The capital required for these specialties will 
not be more than a few hundred dollars at the 
outside. The most expensive equipment will be 
for the pigeons, and for them a loft Is often built 
over part of the fowl house. 

We will take up the different kinds of birds 
and tell briefly how to raise and force them for 
a critical market. 

Broilers should be plump, tender, and juicy 
when cooked. In order to meet these require- 
ments they must be forced almost from the 
start; If properly handled they should be ready 
for market In ten weeks from the day they are 
hatched. The breeds most used for this pur- 
pose are the White Wyandottes, White Ply- 
mouth Rocks, and Rhode Island Reds. Whlte- 
plumaged birds always look better when plucked 
for market; otherwise the colored varieties are 
just as good. 

In order to produce broilers in winter and 
157 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

early spring, the eggs must be set as early in 
the autumn as possible, a time unfortunately 
when eggs are scarce and high in price, as the 
old hens are in the process of moulting. As 
soon as the chicks are old enough to be fed, they 
should be given small quantities of " chick 
food," which is scattered in the litter in the 
*' sun parlor " part of the brooder, if it be of 
the outdoor type; or if a piped brooder-house 
has been built, a low board fence eight inches 
high should be set up around the entrance, leav- 
ing a space 2 by 3 feet for the youngsters to ex- 
ercise in until they are three or four days old, 
when they may have the run of the entire pen. 
Outdoor brooders must be placed in a brooder- 
house during the winter; and the house should 
be provided with sufficient heat to keep the tem- 
perature about 40 degrees in zero weather. 

Each pen must be supplied with a box of 
grit and charcoal and pure water. In order to 
force chicks along as rapidly as possible, they 
should have an abundance of fresh air and ex- 
ercise. Clear away the snow directly in front 
of the brooder-house and make them run out for 

158 




Courtesy of Messrs. Lord & Burn ham Co. 

ORCHIDS AND BEANS IN BLOSSOM IN MID-WINTER 



HIGH-PRICED SPECIALTIES 

a few moments every day when the sun Is shin- 
ing. 

When the youngsters are two weeks old they 
should have, in addition to dry feed in the 
hoppers (which are before them all the time), 
a daily mash composed of equal parts of corn 
meal, wheat bran, and ground oats (with the 
hulls sifted out). This mixture should be 
scalded and fed warm, but never hot; and with 
this sweet skim milk may be given in clean tin 
drinking-pans arranged so that only the beaks 
of the chicks can reach the milk, otherwise they 
will befoul themselves and the milk. 

By the end of the fourth week the mash may 
be fed twice a day, morning and afternoon. 
Close watch should be kept for the first indica- 
tion of indigestion, when the second mash must 
be cut at once for a few days. But if the man 
in charge has been careful to provide plenty of 
air and exercise the chances of a setback are very 
small. 

As the chickens grow, the heat in the brood- 
ers should be gradually lowered from ninety to 
eighty-five degrees under the hovers, and from 
159 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

eighty to seventy-five degrees in the nursery 
(where outdoor brooders are used) by the end 
of the first week. This reduction will continue 
until the temperature under the hovers registers 
seventy-five degrees, where it can remain until 
the youngsters are able to do without artificial 
heat. 

After all, the only rehable thermometer will 
be the chicks themselves. If on closing the 
house for the night the chicks are seen to be 
comfortably spread out under the hover, then 
the temperature is right. If, on the contrary, 
they are found crowding together and peeping, 
then more heat is needed at once. 

Broilers should weigh from one and a half 
to two pounds each when dressed for market. 
The packing should be carefully done to avoid 
bruising the carcass. Line a box with white 
paper; then pack the bottom row with the breast 
bones up, and the second row breast bones down. 
This will prevent their being shaken about in 
transit. Notify consignee when shipment is to 
be made. 

Roasting fowls are in demand all the year, 
i6o 



HIGH-PRICED SPECIALTIES 

although the highest prices are obtained In 
April and May; and In order to have birds 
weighing five or six pounds each ready by that 
time they should be hatched in September and 
October. For this product the average price 
is about twenty-three cents per pound, and at 
this figure the net profit per bird, allowing for 
a selling commission, would be about sixty-five 
cents on a five-pound roaster. 

Both cockerels and pullets are fatted for 
roasters. The sexes should be separated as 
soon as the cockerels begin to annoy the pullets. 
The method of feeding is the same as for 
broilers, with the exception that only one mash 
a day should be given until the birds are four 
months old, when they should have two mashes 
a day. 

There are many who do not shut their roas- 
ters up In fattening coops; but the writer has 
found many of the very finest flavored roasters 
were those confined in fattening pens for two 
weeks before marketing. Professor Graham 
of the Ontario Agricultural College, Guelph, 
Canada, who has been most successful In fatten- 
i6i 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

Ing fowls for market, gives the following 
method: 

" The fattening crate is usually made six feet six 
inches long, eighteen to twenty inches high, and six- 
teen inches wide. It is divided into three compart- 
ments, each holding four to five birds, according to 
the size of the chickens. It is made of slats, except 
the ends and partitions between the compartments, 
which are solid wood. The slats on the top, bottom, 
and back run lengthwise of the coop, while those on 
the front run up and down. They are usually one 
and one-half inches wide and five-eighths inch thick. 
Those in front are placed tw'o inches apart to allow 
the chickens to put their heads through for feeding. 
The slats on the bottom are placed about three-fourths 
of an Inch apart, so as to permit the droppings to pass 
through to the ground. Care should be taken not to 
have the first bottom slat from the back fit closely 
against the back. An opening at this point prevents the 
droppings collecting and decomposing. 

" The best grain ration Is composed of two parts 
of very finely ground oats, tv\^o parts finely ground 
buckwheat, and one part ground corn. Increase the 
corn and decrease the buckwheat If a yellow skin is 
wanted. This mixture is by weight, not by measure. 
To the ground grain, sufficient sour milk Is added to 
make the mass about the consistency of gruel, or so 
that It will drip from a spoon like pancake batter. If 
the milk is thick it will take nearly two pounds of milk 
162 



HIGH-PRICED SPECIALTIES 

to one of grain. A little salt is added two or three 
times a week. The writer feeds no more than one 
ounce of salt to one hundred birds, and should the birds 
show signs of feather-pulling, the salt may be slightly 
increased. 

" If there is any 3ecret for fattening chickens it is 
in the method of feeding. When the birds are first 
put in the crates or shut in the pens to be fattened, 
they should not be fed anything for the first twenty- 
four hours, or until such time as their appetite be- 
comes keen. During the first week they should not be 
fed more than one-half of what they would ordinarily 
eat. The waiter usually begins by feeding one dozen 
chickens not more than eight to twelve ounces of 
grain mixed with about twice as much milk. After 
the first week the ration is gradually increased until 
the appetite is fully satisfied. Should the feeder fully 
satisfy the appetite of the chickens during the first 
three or four days, or even the first week they are in 
the crate, in all probability the birds will do very 
poorly. A feeder with good judgment at no time will 
over-feed his birds. He should feed all they will eat 
after the first week." 

Squabs are becoming more and more valued 
as a table delicacy, and the margin of profit to 
the grower is very good. The keep of a pair 
of old birds will cost about a dollar and a half a 
year, and a well-managed flock will raise, on an 
163 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

average, five pairs of squabs annually for every 
pair of birds it contains. While prices vary ac- 
cording to the season, it will be safe to count on 
an average of sixty cents a pair, or a gross return 
of three dollars for every pair of breeders kept. 
Pigeons are hardy and subject to but few dis- 
eases, but dampness is fatal to them. A loft 
with a feeding room 8 by i6 feet, and a fly 1 6 
by 1 6 feet, will accommodate forty pairs. If 
the neighborhood is infested with English spar- 
rows, the fly should be covered with one-inch 
mesh wire netting. The north, east, and west 
sides of the loft must be wind and water tight, 
the south side should have glass to the extent 
of one-third of its area. The floor of the breed- 
ing room may be covered either with an inch of 
coarse sand or fine gravel, the former prefera- 
bly. Two nests must be arranged for every 
pair of birds, as the female will commence lay- 
ing again before her first brood are out of the 
nest. The male helps with the incubation, and 
will often take entire charge of the young while 
his wife is busy starting a new family. 
164 



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(Owned ijy Sir George Drnmmond, Beaconsfield, Canada) 




W URLD S RECORD IIOLSTEIX-FRIESIAN COW 
(Owned by Mr. Mayer, Syracuse, N. Y.) 



HIGH-PRICED SPECIALTIES 

Writing on the subject of nest boxes, " Jacob 
Biggie " says: 

" The nest boxes in a loft should, on no account, 
be made in rows on permanent shelves and of a uni- 
form appearance. Instead of regular rows of nests of 
one pattern use large soap boxes, starch boxes, irregular 
boxes, nail kegs, or anything that will give individual- 
ity to the house of each pair. Do not nail these fast 
to the walls or beams, or set them on shelves in regu- 
lar order, but hang them on hooks or screw-eyes, S0 
they can be easily taken dow^n." 

Be careful to hang the nests In pairs, and If 
possible, separate the pairs by a little space. 

Unmated birds will make no end of trouble 
in an otherwise happy community. Many a 
happy marriage has been spoiled by the Intrigues 
of unmated birds. The beginner will experi- 
ence some difficulty In distinguishing the sexes, 
for even experts are sometimes puzzled. The 
best plan Is to purchase mated pigeons from 
some rehable breeder and then put number leg- 
bands on them. In this way trouble will be 
avoided and gradually the eye will learn to see 
the difference In the sexes. 

165 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

For market purposes there is no better breed 
than the Homer. Many use just the common 
pigeon crossed with the Antwerp or large runt. 
Thomas Wright, writing on this subject in the 
Cyclopaedia of American Agriculture, says he 
has had the best results from a bird that com- 
bined the qualities of the runt (English), Mon- 
dains (Swiss and French), and typical Floren- 
tine Amalgamated, infused with the Homer. 
This pigeon produced a large heavy squab for 
the same outlay as the Homer, and was equally 
prolific. 

The natural food of pigeons is grain and 
seeds of grasses. For every-day purposes two 
parts whole corn, two parts wheat, and one part 
buckwheat (all old, sound grain) will give sat- 
isfaction; or the following, recommended by 
Wright, may be used: equal parts whole corn, 
cracked corn, red or amber wheat, Canada field 
peas, and kafir. Hemp seed, millet, and rape 
may be given occasionally, at the rate of one- 
tenth the quantity of other ingredients. 

Pure water, oyster shells, grit, and a piece of 
rock salt, such as is used for cattle, should be 
i66 



HIGH-PRICED SPECIALTIES 

constantly before them In the house. Lettuce 
and plantain make up the list of green foods. 
A daily bath of fresh water should be placed 
in the fly in summer. In winter twice a week 
will be sufficient, and for this purpose a milk 
pan four inches deep and eighteen inches across 
will answer. 

Pigeons require as much attention as poultry 
if success is looked for. The loft should be 
cleaned at least twice a week; provide tobacco 
stems and straw cut in short lengths for nest ma- 
terial, and keep a close eye on the growing 
squabs. The birds are dressed for market in 
the same way as broilers. The time to ship is 
just before the young birds are able to fly. 

Turkeys require plenty of room, as the nature 
of the bird will not permit of confinement. 
The bronze turkey is the largest of the domesti- 
cated breeds. The " Standard of Perfection '* 
gives the weight of the male as thirty-five 
pounds, and that of the female as twenty 
pounds. Next in point of weight are the Nar- 
ragansetts, the male weighing thirty-two pounds 
and the female twenty-two pounds. The White 
167 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

Holland follow, the male weighing twenty-six 
pounds and the female sixteen pounds. 

Turkeys should be kept entirely separated 
from the other poultry. In fact, It will be wiser 
never to allow them on the same land that the 
fowls have roamed over. This may seem car- 
rying precaution to excess, but our Eastern tur- 
keys have been so Inbred that they are subject to 
diseases that do not affect our chickens. The 
disease to be most dreaded Is black-head, and 
as this can be conveyed to turkeys through the 
medium of hen droppings, It will be seen that 
too much care cannot be taken to keep them 
entirely separated. In starting a flock, pur- 
chase birds at least two years old. One cock 
to four or five hens is the rule In mating. Tur- 
keys require but little attention when once the 
insect world is astir In the spring, and from 
then until frost one meal a day in the late after- 
noon, composed of mixed grains, will be sufii- 
clent. For winter quarters an open shed facing 
south with perches well up from the ground 
will be all that is necessary. The turkey hen 
is disposed to hide her nest, but she can be 
i68 



HIGH-PRICED SPECIALTIES 

tempted to make use of an old barrel, turned on 
its side and partially filled with straw, if it is 
hidden under a clump of shrubbery or a brush 
heap. Every effort should be made to have the 
nest near the farmhouse, so that a watch may 
be kept on the hen and little turkeys when 
hatched, as they are very delicate at that time. 
For the first five or six weeks they must be kept 
out of the tall grass If it Is wet, as they are 
very apt to become chilled and die. Some 
breeders make a practice of confining the mother 
turkey In a coop and allowing the little ones 
their liberty. Others keep the little ones In 
small yards about 6 by 12 feet, with a shelter 
for them to run under In case of rain, and allow 
the mother her freedom. The yards are made 
by using one-foot boards set on edge and sup- 
ported by stakes driven Into the ground. The 
writer prefers the latter way. The yards 
should, however, be moved to a fresh spot every 
other day. 

For the first few days hard-boiled eggs and 
stale bread dipped In milk, and allowed to dry 
enough to crumble, makes an excellent diet. 
169 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

Bread made of two parts corn meal to one of 
bran with a little finely minced cooked meat, 
mixed stiff with milk and baked, is recom- 
mended by successful turkey-raisers. After the 
young turkeys are six weeks old, if they have 
thriven up to that time, they become quite hardy 
and may be fed upon the same foods that are 
suitable for chickens. 

Turkey broilers weigh three to four pounds 
apiece and are finished off for market by feed- 
ing more corn and corn meal, and less grain 
of other kinds. As turkeys do not thrive when 
shut up they must be fattened while at liberty, 
a task requiring patience and no Httle skill. 
The birds are dressed and packed for market 
just as broilers are. 

The growing of mushrooms, both for com- 
mercial and private use, is increasing each year; 
large and extensive buildings are being used, 
and it has now become a recognized industry. 
This is largely due to the constant demand and 
remunerative price received for mushrooms, and 
also to the fact that failure Is largely over- 
come by following a few simple directions. No 
170 



HIGH-PRICED SPECIALTIES 

crop, however, Is more exacting as to conditions 
than the mushroom. The bed must be pre- 
pared carefully ; the materials used should be in 
the required condition ; the spawn should be ob- 
tained from a rehable source, fresh and good; 
temperature at the time of planting the spawn 
and during the growth must be right, and the 
matter of moisture carefully looked after. 

The idea that mushrooms can be produced 
only in caves, pits, and houses which have been 
specially built for the purpose, is erroneous. 
They can be successfully grown in almost any 
building, cellar, or shed which can be darkened. 
Beds can be made on ground floor, or on shelves, 
in tiers; also in the greenhouse under the benches 
or in spent hotbeds, and out of doors on the 
lawn, or In the orchard or meadow. 

Great care should be taken In the selection 
of material to be used In making the bed. 
Fresh horse manure should be used, composed 
largely of short manure with a small propor- 
tion of long, strawy litter, adding loam or rich 
soil at the rate of one bushel of soil to four or 
five bushels of manure. This mixture should 
171 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

be prepared by stacking, turning, shaking, and 
re-stacking every three or four days, until it is 
in condition for preparing the bed. These op- 
erations permit of the escape of noxious gases 
and prevent burning. Keep moist, but not too 
wet, and in about two weeks the material will 
be ready for the bed, which should be about 
twelve to fourteen inches thick after being thor- 
oughly tamped or pounded down so as to be- 
come firm and compact; then cover with long 
straw. The usual width of a bed Is two and a 
half to three feet, and any length desired. 

If the material Is in proper order, the mer- 
cury In the thermometer (which can be bought 
expressly for such work) will rise to lOO degrees 
or more, then after a time it will fall slowly. 
When ninety degrees has been reached, the time 
for planting the spawn has arrived. If Eng- 
lish mushroom spawn Is used, It should be 
broken into pieces about two inches square and 
planted nine inches apart each way and two 
Inches deep. Be sure to firm the manure over 
the spawn. After the spawn has been planted 
for a week or ten days, it should have begun 
172 



HIGH-PRICED SPECIALTIES 

" running," and a coat of rich, loamy soil, an 
inch thick, should be spread over the entire bed, 
the surface being made smooth and firm; then 
cover with litter and keep the house at a uni- 
form temperature of fifty-seven degrees. The 
bed should remain covered with light litter until 
exhausted. 

If properly made, a bed will produce mush- 
rooms during a period of two or three months. 
The time for starting mushroom beds varies in 
different parts of the country. Almost any sea- 
son will suit. Early spring beds for the open; 
May and June, August and September for 
cellars and sheds; while for greenhouses, any 
month will answer that will not bring the crop 
Into the months of July and August. 

Many failures In growing mushrooms are 
caused by over-watering. While they thrive 
best In a soil which will not crack but keep 
moist enough to press together nicely, It must 
not be wet. At the same time, If It be allowed 
to become too dry, decomposition will be too 
rapid, and the bed will become exhausted be- 
fore the crop Is harvested. The water used 
173 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

should be lukewarm and not applied to the bed 
direct, but to the litter covering same. The 
mushrooms should appear above the surface In 
about six to eight weeks after spawning, unless 
there is some defect In the materials, tempera- 
ture, or moisture, In which case they sometimes 
remain barren for two or three months and then 
turn out excellent crops. The crop will depend 
largely upon the management of the bed; the 
average result being a half-pound to each square 
foot of bed. In gathering the crop, do not cut 
with a knife, but detach from the stem by a 
quick twisting motion. By this means the 
threads of the mycelium are broken ; small tuber- 
cles will form on the ends of the broken threads 
and will eventually become mushrooms. 

In order to start a small game preserve it will 
be best to join with a neighbor; one to raise the 
birds on a small ten-acre tract, and the other 
to keep a large enclosure to hunt over, stocked 
with birds every year from the nursery. One 
hundred and ten rods of four-foot fencing 
will be sufficient to enclose ten acres and will 
174 



HIGH-PRICED SPECIALTIES 

cost about fifty dollars. The posts can be cut 
from the woodlot. 

G. E. Walsh says, in " Forest and Stream " : 

" The pheasant Is one of the most popular inhabi- 
tants of the modern game preserve, and the work of 
breeding them successfully on a few acres of land is 
neither difficult nor expensive. Twenty years ago it 
was the popular impression that these beautiful birds 
could only be raised successfully on large estates, but 
to-day the fallacy of this argument is fairly proved by 
many notable examples. Several breeders have raised 
pheasants on small suburban grounds with less than 
two acres of land for accommodations for houses and 
exercising grounds." 

Pheasants, although high-strung and nervous, 
are easily tamed and raised as pets. A ten- 
acre preserve, with a running stream of water, 
a pond or lake, and an acre or two of open 
fields or thicket, will support several hundred 
pheasants, quail, partridge, and wild turkeys. 
None of these will Interfere with the breeding 
and increase of the others. The main point 
to be remembered In breeding such game Is the 
food supply In winter, and shelter against the 
175 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

severe storms. These are much more easily 
provided on a small preserve and consequently 
the chances for success are greater. Speaking 
on this very point Mr. Walsh says: 

" Our cold winters are exceedingly destructive to 
quail, and more are killed In one winter by the snow 
and by starvation than by the hunter's gun. When 
the natural supply of food Is covered with a foot or 
two of snow, poor Bob White has a hard time of It. 
Thousands of quail may be found snowed under after 
every severe storm; and In their search for food they 
dig under the frozen snow until feet and legs are 
cruelly lacerated. Buckwheat, sorghum, millet, and 
cane are the most nutritious foods for the quail. They 
should be planted freely In the open field along with 
Canada peas for the birds; and when winter comes, 
the straw and grain should be gathered in some shel- 
tered place where the birds can resort. Food must be 
planted In the fields both for the summer and winter. 
Barley, oats, and rye harvested In the straw and kept 
for winter use are also necessary for success. A feed- 
ing shelter Is very simple. It may be that nature 
forms sufficient shelter under spruce and cedar trees; 
or an artificial bower of branches covered with straw 
can keep the ground comparatively free from drifting 
snow. 

" So far as possible nature should be Imitated in 
feeding and caring for the birds. Stacks of wheat, 

176 



HIGH-PRICED SPECIALTIES 

oats, rye, or buckwheat in the field or under the shelter 
will attract the quail. They prefer to find food in 
the natural state and not threshed out and spread 
around. A visit to the feeding shelters once a week in 
winter is sufficient to see that all is going well with the 
birds." 

The restocking of a preserve with birds Is a 
simple and Inexpensive matter. Quail, con- 
trary to the general Impression, will remain In 
the vicinity where they were born year after 
year, If not frightened by dogs or shooting, so 
that after a start Is once made It will seldom be 
necessary to Introduce new birds. The time to 
begin operations Is In the spring. In the case 
of quail, three hens and a cock make the right 
proportion of sexes. Place the box with the 
birds near a stream and open at night. Mr. 
Walsh suggests that the open end of the box 
be partly filled with straw and grain. ^ Then the 
birds will emerge from their confinement with 
less fear than If exposed suddenly to broad day- 
light. Partridges should be started the same 
way. Pheasants should be started In pairs. 
Wild turkeys can be bought In twos. 

If no dogs or shooting are allowed In the 
177 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

nursery, the birds will all become more or less 
tame and will multiply very rapidly. 

In regard to thinning out, Mr. Walsh says: 

" The thinning-out process should be made with box 
traps, and not with the shotgun. The latter alarms 
the birds, so that many may desert the preserve and 
seek shelter in some public woods or on other private 
property. The box trap works silently and captures 
the birds alive without disturbing their mates. They 
can be sold for breeding birds, to parks and game pre- 
serves, at good prices. A pair of live quail are worth 
double the price of two dead ones." 

If after stocking up with birds It Is found 
that they bring more sold alive in pairs for 
breeding purposes, then you will not need to 
join with a neighbor. 

Most of us connect bees with flowers and fruit 
blossoms. We know their value as pollen car- 
riers and realize that without their aid wc 
should have little or no fruit, but as regards an 
intimate acquaintance with these little benefac- 
tors, we are obliged to confess a good deal of 
Ignorance. That bees are profitable there Is no 
doubt, and we should all be the better off for 
having, at least, a few hives on our farms. 

178 



HIGH-PRICED SPECIALTIES 

In the past ten years the bee Industry in the 
United States has grown very rapidly, many 
devoting their whole time to the business. Prof- 
its vary, as In any other business, depending 
largely on the operator. Mr. Ferris, in " Glean- 
ings in Bee Culture," gives this balance for his 
first year, which is interesting, because bees were 
new to him, and most of his knowledge of them 
was gained from books. Here is the financial 
statement of his apiary from May 23, 1902, to 
July 23, 1903: 

May 23, 1902, bought 7 colonies of bees, 33 old 
hives, 10 lb. foundation, three-frame extractor, 

and a f -' other things, for $80.00 

August 15, 1902, one colony bees 3.00 

1000 lb. sugar at an average of $4.15 per cwt. . 41.50 

45 lb. foundation at 4Sc, and 50 top stories at 45c 42.75 

I queen for $8.00; lumber and moulding, $7.00 . 15.00 
750 brood frames, $10.50; queen-cages and 

smoker, $2.00 12.50 

$194-75 

Sold 3200 lb. honey for 262.00 

Increased to 105 colonies of bees worth $2 each 210.00 
Sold 23 lb. wax at 30c, and 29 queens for $19 . 25.90 
Increased 750 good straight brood-combs, valued 
at 15c each 112.50 

Total income $610.40 

194-75 

Actual gain (personal labor not included) . . $415.65 
Actual gain per swarm in 14 months was . . . 51.95 

179 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

In starting with bees it will be wise to visit 
some friend who keeps them and spend the day 
learning the ins and outs of their management, 
how to tell the queen, workers, and drones, the 
opening of hives and handling of frames. 
More information can be gained in a short time 
in this way than could be gotten from a book in 
months of study. Before buying any bees send 
for a hive and study all its parts. There are 
many different makes of good hives, but the 
Langstroth pattern is, I believe, the standard. 
Usually bees are bought hive and all, but fre- 
quently the hive is not the right sort, and then 
the bees have to be transferred. 

An outfit of five hives and all the necessary 
tools for beginning can be bought for about 
eleven dollars. Italian queens cost from three 
dollars to ten dollars. A good select tested 
queen, suitable for starting with, can be had for 
three dollars. It will be much less expensive to 
start with a one-frame nucleus in each hive, 
which if properly managed, will make good 
strong colonies by fall. These will cost two 
dollars each. So each hive will stand the pur- 
i8o 



HIGH-PRICED SPECIALTIES 

chaser seven dollars and twenty-one cents If he 
put a good queen and a one-frame nucleus in each. 
Again, one hive will cost two dollars and fifteen 
cents, a three-frame nucleus three dollars and 
fifty cents, and a queen three dollars. The 
outfit complete, eight dollars and sixty-five cents. 
Location is not Important. Until a few 
years ago, it was thought that bees could be 
kept only in certain localities, but now since the 
introduction of Italian bees, they are kept even 
In large cities on the housetops. For those liv- 
ing in suburbs, the rear of the lots would be the 
best place ; on farms, the back of the house or an 
orchard. The ground should be kept smooth, 
and the grass closely mown, around the hives. 
If possible, do not place the hives near the high- 
way; if it is necessary, however, a high board 
fence should be built between the hives and the 
street. A hedge, trellis, trees, shrubbery, or 
anything that will cause them to raise their flight 
to a height of ten or twelve feet above the 
streets, may be used. Never allow the bees to 
go directly from their hives on a line with the 
passers-by In the highway, or a lawsuit may re- 
i8i 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

suit for damages from bee-stings. In placing 
the hives in the orchard, if the trees are large, 
four or five hives may be placed under each. 
Two hives are enough to go under the smaller 
trees. Set them on the north side so that they 
will get the early morning and the afternoon 
sun. Too much shade is bad, as likewise is too 
little. A good windbreak will prove a great 
help in keeping the hives warm in the early 
spring and fall. The hives should not rest on 
the ground on account of dampness. 

Bees are divided into two classes, workers and 
drones. The Italians are the most profitable 
and the easiest to handle, as they are very gentle. 
Many bee-raisers work among their swarms of 
Italians without any protection. The Italian 
worker-bee has a distinguishing characteristic, 
namely, three yellow bands, the first next to the 
waist and very plainly seen; then a thin black 
band, followed by a broader yellow stripe, an- 
other thin black stripe, then the broadest yellow 
band of all. The workers make all the honey 
and usually w^ork themselves to death in about 
three months. The drones live as a rule a 
182 



HIGH-PRICED SPECIALTIES 

shorter time and have a hard life. The queen 
often lives to four or five years as she does very 
little out-door work. 

Every swarm has a queen, whose duty con- 
sists in laying eggs from which are hatched the 
future workers and drones. A healthy queen 
will lay during her life-time from 900,000 to 
1,200,000 eggs. Swarming is the result, gen- 
erally, of a colony outgrowing its hives. By 
using large hives this will in a measure be pre- 
vented, although after-swarming sometim.es gets 
to be a sort of mania with bees, and they swarm, 
apparently, without a reason. No one can 
study the habits of these curious insects without 
becoming more and more fascinated; then, be- 
fore one realizes It, one becomes an enthusiast. 
Thus, like some other departments of the farm, 
bees are not valuable solely or even chiefly for 
their earning capacity, but will aid In evoking, 
especially in the younger members of the family, 
an abiding Interest In farm life. 

Bees must be able to find plenty of honey- 
bearing plants in order to produce honey. The 
basswood (or linden), ranks next to alfalfa, 
183 



THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 

sage, and white clover, as the best honey- 
producer. These trees are not only easily 
grown, but mature early and are covered with 
delicious, fragrant blossoms, in which the bees 
delight. Buckwheat is another favorite plant 
for bees. It is a profitable crop, too, in rough 
land, especially where fowls are kept. Flowers 
supply bees with a great deal of honey-making 
material, and also add beauty and color to the 
farm. An average of thirty-five pounds of 
honey per hive can be counted on in good sea- 
sons, and this will bring about ten cents per 
pound wholesale. If sold to private families, 
comb honey in sections brings from twenty to 
thirty cents. 

Honey is the most wholesome of all sweets, 
and the most delicious. It is by far the most 
wholesome sweet for children, and in many 
cases has proved beneficial to their health. 
Bees and ducks are the only combination that 
will not work. The ducks eat the bees, and the 
bees sting the ducks while in the process of being 
swallowed; the result being no bees, no honey, 
no ducks, no profit. 

184 



INDEX 



Adams, J. W., his experi- 
ence with strawberries, 
133. 

Agriculture, United States 
Department of, quoted, 
70 '; New York State 
Department of, quoted, 
138. 

Apples, for market, 128, 

130-133- 
Asparagus, to raise, 137. 

B 

Baby beef, 69-74. 

Bailey, L. H., quoted, 89, 

145, 152; author of 

" Forcing Book," 154. 
Barn, hay, 29. 
Beef, for market, 45, 67-74, 
Bee hives, 180-183. 
Bees and the bee industry, 

178-184. 
Berries, for market, 128, 

133-136. 
Biggie, Jacob, quoted, 165. 
Bordeaux mixture, 104, 105, 

137, 138, 140-142. 



Brooders, 158-160. 

Brooks, Professor, quoted, 

81, 96, 100, 108, 109. 
Buckwheat, value of, 184. 



Carbohydrates, value for 

feeding, 80, 81, 83-85. 
Carrots, to raise, 105, 106. 
Cauliflower, in forcing 

house, 151. 
Chestnuts, for seed, no. 
Chickens, see Poultry. 
Clover, value of, 109, 131, 

134. 
Colts, teeth of, 62, 62,; 

mouth of, 65. 
Concrete floors, 31-36, 40, 

74, 96. 
Connecticut, rotation of 

crops in, 103. 
" Convenience tables," 82- 

84. 
Conveniences, farm, 32, ^iZy 

1 16-126. 
Corn, to raise, 99, 100, 106- 

109, 125. 



85 



INDEX 



Cornell University Farm, 

102. 

Corn-harvester, use of, 125. 
Corn planter, use of, 121. 
Cows, 43-47, 79^86; dairy, 

44, 47 ; dual-purpose, 44, 

47 ; beef, 45, 67. 
Crops, to raise, 93-110; to 

market, 127-137 ; to 

force, 143-155- 
Cucumbers, in forcing 

house, 151. 
Cultivator, use of, 104, 106- 

108, 120, 131, 134. 
" Cyclopaedia of American 

Agriculture," quoted, 

89, 166. 



Eggs, for market, 55-57- 
Engines, gasolene, 19, 20, 

117, 122; hot-air, 20, 21; 

electric, 21 ; hydraulic 

ram, 21-26. 
Experiment Station, Okla- 
homa, quoted, 139. 



Farm buildings, 27-42, 95, 

96. 
Fat, value for feeding, 80, 

81, 83-85. 
Feeders, 67, 68, 70, 71. 
Feeds and feeding, 77-92; 

Wolf standard of, 82, 

83- 



Fertilizers, 93-96, 98-101, 

104-110, 152. 
Flowers, in forcing house, 

145-155- 

Fodder-shredder, use of, 
122. 

" Forcing Book," L. H. 
Bailey, 154. 

Forcing house, 143-155 ; ad- 
vantages of, 143-145; 
cost of running, 145- 
147; to build, 147-151, 
i53» 154; soil, fertili- 
zers, and water in, 151- 
153; books on, 154; to 
destroy insects in, 155. 

Fowls, see Poultry. 

Fruit, for market, 128-137, 
139-142; in forcing 
house, 144-155- 

Fungi, 97, 132, 153. 



Game preserves, 174-178. 
Graham, Professor, quoted, 

161-163. 
Grain drill, use of, 120. 
Grapes, to spray, 140. 
" Greenhouse Management," 

Taft, 154. 
Grist mill, use of, 126. 

H 

Hale, J. A., quoted, 133, 
134. 



186 



INDEX 



Harrow, use of, 105-107, 

120, 134. 
Hay, to raise, 121, 130. 
Honey, 184. 
Horses, 58-66, 78, 79; food 

of, 59-61, 78, 79; teeth 

of, 61-66. 



Implements, see Tools. 
Insects and pests, 97, 104, 
105, 132, 137-142, 155. 



K 



Massachusetts, rotation of 
crops in, 102. 

McGeehan, R. D., his expe- 
rience with strawber- 
ries, 135, 136. 

Melons, in forcing house, 
144, 151. 

Milk, in dairy, 79-85. 

Mower, to select, 121. 

Mumford, H. W., quoted, 
72, 73- 

Mushrooms, for market, 
170-174. 



N 



Knechtel, M., quoted, no. Nursery, to start, 111-115. 



Land, see Soil. 

Lettuce, in forcing house, 

151. 
Lime, value of, 109, no. 

M 



Oats, to fertilize, 98-101 ; 

for green food, 105. 
Onions, to fertilize, loi. 
Orchard, to spray, 124, 140- 

142; care of, I3i-i33- 



Mangel-wurzels, to fertilize, 

loi ; value of, 105 ; to 

raise, 106. 
Manure, 31, 68, 93-96, 98, 

100-107, 131, 132, 152, 

171, 172, 
Manure spreader, use of, 

120. 
Marketing, farm products, 

127-142. 



Paris green, 104, 105, 137- 

140. 
Parsnips, to fertilize, loi. 
Partridges, to raise, 177. 
Pasture, value for feeding, 

87, 88. 
Peaches, for market, 132, 

133- 
Pears, for market, 132, 133. 



187 



INDEX 



Peas, to fertilize, 100-102; 
for green food, 105; to 
kill insects on, 137. 

Peppers, in forcing house, 

151. 
Pheasants, 175, 177. 
Pigeons, 164-167 ; for 

squabs, 163, 164, 166; 

nest boxes for, 165 ; 

food of, 166. 
Piggery, 33-36. 
Pigs, 47-53, 87-89; for 

bacon, 48-53, 87; food 

of, 86-90. 
Plant food, 93-95, 99, I3i- 
Plough, use of, 119, 120, 

134. 
Plums, for market, 132, 133. 
Potatoes, to fertilize, 98, 
100, loi ; to raise and 
market, 103, 105, 123, 
129, 130. 
Potato-digger, use of, 123. 
Potato-planter, use of, 123. 
Poultry (chickens, broilers, 
etc.), food of, 90-92, 
158, 159, 162, 163, 168- 
170; fattening pens for, 
161-163; 
Broilers, 55, 56, 157, 160. 
Capons, 56. 
Chickens, 55-57. 
Ducks, 57, 58. 
Roasters, 44, 55, 56, 160- 

163. 
Turkeys, 167-170, 177. 



Poultry house, to build, 36- 

40, 158. 
Protein, value for feeding, 

80, 83-85. 
Pumps, water, 19-26. 

Q 

Quail, to raise, 176-178. 
Quinces, for market, 132, 
133- 



Radishes, in forcing house, 

151- 
Reaper and binder, use of, 

124, 125. 
Roller, use of, 120. 
Root crops, 105, 106. 
Rotation, crops, 96-98, 102, 

103. 
Rye, to raise, 86. 



Seed, 106-114. 

Seeder, use of, 106, 125, 126. 

Sheep, 53-55, 74-76; for 
mutton, 53, 54; for 
lamb, 54, 74-76; food 
of, yd. 

Sheep shed, 2>^. 

Silage-cutter, use of, 122. 



188 



INDEX 



Smith, H. R., quoted, 69. 

Soil, 94, 97, 102-115; im- 
plements for, 1 19-123. 

Specialties, to raise, 156-184. 

Sprayer, use of, 123, 124. 

Spraying, 104, 105, 123, 124, 
132, 137-142. 

Squabs, see Pigeons. 

Stables, 30, 31, 95, 96. 

Steers, for baby beef, 69- 
74; food of, 69, 70, 

Strawberries, to fertilize, 
99; for market, 128, 
133-136; to spray, 140. 



Tomatoes, to kill cutworms 
on, 138, 139; in forcing 
house, 144, 149, 151. 

Tools, use of, 103-108, 115- 
126; list of, 118, 119. 



Vegetables, for market, 136- 
139; in forcing house, 
144-155- 

W 

Walsh, G. E., quoted, 175- 
178. 

Water tanks, 16-19, 24. 

Water supply, 14-26, 30. 

Weeder, use of, 121, 

Wells, 15, 16 

Wheat, to fertilize, 100. 

Wilson, W. C, his experi- 
ence with strawberries, 
136. 

Windmills, 18, 19. 

Wing, J. K, quoted, 75, 76. 

Wolf standard of dairy 
nutrients, 82, 83. 

Woodlot, to start, no, 114, 
115- 

Wright, Thomas, quoted, 
166. 



189 



nphree books which 
^ should be in the 
library of every pro- 
gressive farmer. 



FARM 
DAIRYING 

By LAURA ROSE 

A Work Comprising All that is Newest 

and Best in this Lucrative 

Branch of Farming 

EVERY phase of the Dairy business is covered from the 
farmer's standpoint in this little book, which is written 
by a recognized authority on the subject. Miss Rose has for 
the past twelve years taught dairying in the Ontario Agricul- 
tural College, and she has lectured on the subject from coast 
to coast both in the United States and Canada. The practical 
dairyman in both countries, and the teacher and student in 
agricultural colleges, will find the book most useful. 

CONTENTS 

I. Introduction — Dair)* Agriculture 

II. The Dairy Farm 

III. The Cow Stables 

IV. Suggestions for Building Stable 
V. The Dairy Breed of Cows 

VI. The Cow 

VII. A Standard and a Record Necessary 

VIII. Calving Time 

IX. Care of the Calf 

X. The Heifer 

XI. The Feeding of Cows 

XII. Rations — The Nutritive Value of Common Foodstuffs 

XIII. Fodder Crops 



FARM DAIRYING 



CONTENTS-Continued 

XIV. Silos and Silage 

XV. The Farm Water Supply 

XVI. Watering the Cows 

XVII. The Cow's Digestion 

XVIII. Composition of Milk 

XIX. The Udder and the Secretion of Milk 

XX. Milking the Cows 

XXI. Milking Machines 

XXII. Straining the Milk 

XXIII. Milk for the Cheese Factory 

XXIV. Creaming Milk 
XXV. Separators 

XXVI. Bacteria in Relation to the Dairy 

XXVII. Pasteurization of Cream 

XXVIII. Cream for Cream Gathered Creameries 

XXIX. Culture or Starter for Ripening Cream 

XXX. Dairy Room and Churn 

XXXI. Care of the Churn and Wooden Utensils 

XXXII. Care and Ripening of Cream for Churning 

XXXIII. Butter-making 

XXXIV. Difficulties in Churning 
XXXV. Defects in Butter 

XXXVI. Packing Butter 

XXXVII. Butter for Exhibition 

XXXVIII. The Retail Milk Trade — The Producers' and Consumers' 
Responsibilities 

XXXIX. The Retail Cream Trade — How to Standardize Milk and 
Cream 

XL, Milk Preservatives 

XLI. Milk Definitions 

XLII. Food Value of Skinrt-milk and Butter-milk 

XLIII. Profitable Use of the By-products of the Dairy 

XLIV. The Value of Manure and Use of Absorbents 

XLV. Farm Cheese-making 

XL VI. Soft Cheese-making 

XLVII. Dainty and Popular Milk and Cream Dishes 

XLVIII. Babcock Milk Test 

XLIX. Acidimeter-Test for Acid in Milk 

L. The Ice House 

LI. Flies 

LII. Diseases Common to Cows — Symptoms and Treatment 

Fully Illustrated. Clothe 12mo. $1,25 net; by mail, $1.35 



PRACTICAL 
FARMING 

By W. F. MASSEY 

A Plain Book on Treatment of the Soil and 

Crop Production. Especially Designed 

for the Everyday Use of Farmers 

and Agricultural Students 

"I3RACTICAL FARMING" has been designed 
mT by the author to fulfill a mission that many 
so-called "books for farmers" do not: — to explain 
to the farmer and student, in the plain language of the 
farm, many of the things which the investigations 
of scientists have proven in regard to the treatment 
of soil and the production of crops. 

To his effort to explain scientific matters in plain 
language, Mr. Massey has drawn in addition from 
successful experience of a long life spent in the 
practical work of cultivating the soil, and he has 
made "Practical Farming" a farmer's book on farm- 
ing, nothing more, nothing less. 

To the farmer anxious to get the most out of his 
land, and to the student interested in the "why's" 
and the "wherefore's" of agriculture will this book 
appeal, and a thoughtful, painstaking study of its 



PRACTICAL FARMING 

pages cannot but result in the accumulation of much 

practical and profitable knowledge. 

A number of useful tables for constant reference 

in the back of the book add greatly to the value of the 

work. 

CONTENTS 





Preface 


I. 


The Soil 


II. 


The Physical Character of Soils 


III. 


The Relation of Soils to Moisture and Air 


IV. 


The Anatomy and Physiology of Plants 


V. 


Plant Food in the Soil 


VI. 


Manures and Commercial Fertilizers 


VII. 


Life in the Soil 


VIII. 


Tillage and Its Purposes 


IX. 


The Washing of Soils and Methods of Pre- 




venting this Loss 


X. 


Crop Rotation — Its Purpose and Practice 


XI. 


Crops and Cropping 


XII. 


The Indian Corn Crop 


XIII. 


The Wheat Crop 


XIV. 


The Oats Crop 


XV. 


The Cotton Crop 


XVI. 


The Tobacco Crop 


XVII. 


The Irish Potato Crop 


XVIII. 


The Hay Crop 


XIX. 


How the Legumes Aid Us 


XX. 


The Grasses 


XXI. 


The Commercial Fertilizers for Various Crops 


XXII. 


Useful Tables for Constant Reference 



Cloth. 12mo, $1.50 net; by mail, $1*62 



AMERICAN 
POULTRY 
CULTURE 

By R. B. SANDO 

A Complete Handbook of Practical and 

Profitable Poultry Keeping for the 

Great Army of Beginners 

and Small Breeders 

THE object of this volume is to furnish reHable 
and practical information on the profitable care 
and management of poultry. The author has en- 
deavored to take the reader into the field of practical 
poultry work, telling him what to do, and how and 
when to do it. 

Mr. Sando has catered especially to those who 
desire to keep only a small flock of fowls for pleasure 
or profit, but most of the matter in his book will also 
apply to poultry keeping on an extensive scale. 

In order to make "American Poultry Culture" 
as brief and yet as comprehensive as possible, every- 
thing of a theoretical or imaginative nature has been 
omitted, as well as all unnecessary things. Mr. 
Sando has made use of only valuable and practical 



American Poultry Culture 

facts, which are the result of his personal experience 
in the handling of fowls on both a large and a small 
scale. His book is essentially a business book for 
busy people. 

All interested in ihe reduction of the living ex- 
penses of their family or who would like to make a 
few dollars at a pleasant occupation, should read 
"American Poultry Culture." 

CONTENTS 

I. Poultry Keeping and Poultry Keepers 

II. Poultry House Construction 

III. Plans and Specifications of Modern Poultry Houses 

IV. Poultry Yarding and Fencing 
V. Poultry Fixtures 

VI. Incubators and Brooders 

VII. Breeds Described 

VIII. Selecting a Breed — Getting a Start 

IX. Foods and Feeding 

X. Hatching and Rearing Chicks 

XI. Rearing Chicks After Brooding Age 

XII. The Fancy 

XIII. General Information 

XIV. The Seasons Affecting Poultry Keeping 
XV. Parasites and Diseases of Poultry 

Illustrated, Cloth. 12mo. $1.50 net 
By mail, $U62 



A. C. McGLURG & CO., Publishers 

New York CHICAGO San Francisco 



APR 12 191! 



One copy del. to Cat. Div. 



APR \2 VD11 



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